Oliver Brady passes away

Colourful trainer Oliver Brady died peacefully in his sleep on Monday evening following a long battle with cancer. He was 75.

The County Monaghan trainer was well known for his celebrations in the winner's enclosure, when he would usually make a rousing speech and lead an impromptu sing-song.

He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1995 and underwent several operations since then. Brady was given just six months to live in 2003 after a cyst the size of a golf ball was found in his stomach.

In 2008 he had a quadruple bypass operation to unclog arteries that were up to 97 per cent blocked. He was also a diabetic and has problems with his lungs.

Yet despite all of his health problems, Brady tirelessly devoted his life to his horses and to raising money for the Shabra Charity Foundation which he established with his business partner, Rita Shah.

Brady's first winner was Barr's Hill at Navan in 1985. Among his best horses were Maralan, who won two Grade Two chases within the space of a week in February 2008, and Ebadiyan, successful in the Grade Three Punchestown Juvenile Hurdle in January 2009.

Both horses were ridden by John Cullen, who described Brady as a "great man".

He said: "I've only just been told and it's very sad.

"He was a great man and a great trainer of a horse. I can't really think straight, to be honest.

"No one has a bad word to say about him.

"He did lots of work for charity and even when he was very sick the charity was the first thing on his mind."

Brian Kavanagh, chief executive officer for HRI, said Brady added colour and joy whenever he was present on a racecourse.

He said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Oliver. He was one our most colourful trainers and a favourite with all racegoers.

"He lit up many a race meeting and it was always a spectacle to see racegoers running from the stands to greet an Oliver Brady-trained winner. It was always a pleasure to meet Oliver and we will all miss him.

"He was a very able trainer and enjoyed many big wins with the likes of Barr's Hill, Gazalani and Balapour.

"We must not forget the tremendous charity work he did with the Shabra Heart and Cancer Foundation which he founded with Rita Shah."

In his role as a presenter for At The Races, Matt Chapman developed a close friendship with Brady, whom he described as "one of a kind".

"We first came across each other because of a horse he trained called Pablo. He'd won the Lincoln for Barry Hills and I told him there was no chance he would stay two miles over hurdles," said Chapman.

"It wasn't a side bet, more of a challenge, as Oliver was convinced he could get him to win a race. Of course he didn't, but that was more to do with the fact Pablo had several problems.

"When Pablo retired, Oliver invited me to his yard to school Pablo over a couple of hurdles but it was probably the other way round, it was a great example of how not to ride a horse.

"It started out as a hate-love relationship, and we had a real battle, but mutually we began to get along, so much so I ended up telling him that he needed to come back on the show and start taking the mickey out of me again as that was what the viewers wanted and was more fun.

"He took his training incredibly seriously but, at the same time, he was a showman. He genuinely wanted punters to win, which was why he was always telling them which of his horses he thought would win.

"The one thing he wanted more than anything was a Cheltenham winner and he came close several times. But the one which really hurt his was when Ebadiyan was still in front in the Triumph Hurdle and he ran out on the final bend.

"When Baron De Feypo was third in the Coral Cup (2007) more people went to him than the winner and they had to usher him out of the ring he was loving it so much.

"He was an absolute giver. His charity work in Africa and his Cheltenham preview nights, in which he sometimes had 30 panellists, were legendary. Even Dermot Weld would turn up.

"People should be aware that he should have died a long time ago, and I mean that in the nicest possible sense. He's been very ill. Irish racing will never see the likes of Oliver Brady again, he truly was one of a kind."