Mick Quinlan dies Former Newmarket trainer Mick Quinlan died on Sunday night at the age of 55. Quinlan, who was the brother of Newmarket trainer Noel and uncle of conditional jockey Jack, had trained from 2000-11 before handing over to his brother. The Quinlans moved to Newmarket from their native Ireland, where Mick had been a trainer, in 1999, and soon established themselves as respected dual-purpose handlers. Mick Quinlan is among a select band of trainers to saddle winners at Royal Ascot and Cheltenham - with Langs Lash in the 2008 Queen Mary Stakes and Silk Affair in the 2009 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle. He also showed his ability with horses like Frank Sonata, who won Listed races on the Flat at Nottingham, Haydock and the Curragh, and Dev, successful in the Grand Sefton Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree in 2009. Mick Quinlan's last victory with a licence in his name was Its You Again at Wolverhampton in January 2011 before he handed over the reins to Noel the following month. "He is peaceful now," said Noel Quinlan. "He had his ups and downs for a few years now, but it's important we remember the great highs he had. "He was a great man, a great trainer and a great brother. "He came over from Ireland about 14 years ago and he kicked on from there as a trainer. "He had plenty of great horses and plenty of great days on a racecourse. "It's tragic that he's gone but we'll never forget him." Mick Quinlan is survived by four children, Peter, Brian, Tom and Grace.
