Obituary: From a cuddly toy maker to big jumps owner - racing has lost a great character in John Hales

From cuddly-toy manufacturer to Cheltenham Festival and Grand National-winning owner, John Richard Hales from Erdington in Birmingham was one of racing's great characters.

The co-founder of Golden Bear Toys, Hales, who has died aged 85, was once recognised for producing the memorabilia for children's shows such as Noddy, Thomas the Tank Engine and Teletubbies, but to racing fans he will always be remembered as the owner with the bright yellow silks with red star who loved his greys.

Hales had been planning to invest his nestegg in property in the the south of France in the early 1990s but a conversation with John Moreton, owner of Feltham and Tommy Whittle Chase scorer Twin Oak when he was on holiday in Barbados, meant Hales never did get that second home with a mooring for a little boat across the Channel.

Instead he took Moreton's advice and dipped his toe into racehorse ownership, striking gold at almost the first attempt when he paid £68,000 to purchase One Man from Arthur Stephenson's dispersal sale in 1993.

• 'Racing will miss him, he was a great man' - Ruby Walsh pays tribute to owner John Hales after death aged 85 

• Dan Skelton: 'John Hales was the ultimate believer - he had an extraordinary life that was full of love for his horses' 

Sold with 60 per cent vision in one eye and two huge splints in his front legs, One Man might not have been the safest investment on paper but under the expert tutelage of Greystoke trainer Gordon Richards, he became a fans' favourite during a career that included wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the King George (twice), Charlie Hall (twice), Hennessy Gold Cup and the Peterborough and Ascot Chases.

One Man's nemesis was Cheltenham's hill but having twice wilted on the final climb in the Gold Cup, he recorded a hugely popular success when making all to land the 1998 Champion Chase under Brian Harding. Tragically, 16 days later, he was killed in a fall at Aintree.

That day at Aintree had a profound impact on Hales and One Man was never far from his thoughts, but he enjoyed his greatest triumph as an owner back at the same track when another grey, Neptune Collonges, signed off his career with victory in the 2012 Grand National.

A stalwart of the Paul Nicholls yard, Neptune Collonges was a veteran of four Gold Cups by the time he reached the National but at the age of 11 he put up a courageous performance to get up on the line to beat Sunnyhillboy by a nose carrying a hefty 11st 6lb.

The Champion Chase in particular became a lucky race for the Hales family, with Azertyuiop (2004) and Politologue (2020) ensuring the trophy was a regular fixture in the family home in Shifnal, Shropshire, only 75 miles from Cheltenham racecourse.

Azertyuiop, whose name derived from the top row of letters on a French keyboard, won the Arkle for Hales in 2003, while Noland (2006 Supreme Novices' Hurdle), Al Ferof (2011 Supreme), Aux Ptits Soins (2015 Coral Cup) and Ibis Du Rheu (2016 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle) also carried his distinctive silks to success at the Cheltenham Festival.

In August 2019 Hales suffered a stroke and a bleed on his brain. He was told he might never walk again, but he was a force of nature and rebounded to make almost a full recovery, allowing him to be present when Politologue registered a hugely emotional festival success the following March.

One Man on his way to winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in 1998

Racing was a family affair for him, with wife Pat and daughter Lisa often by his side at the races. He and Lisa, together with Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason, co-owned two winners at the Cheltenham Festival last March - Protektorat (Ryanair Chase) and Monmiral (Pertemps Final) – as well as recent Henry VIII Novices' Chase winner L'Eau Du Sud.

Father and daughter also owned top-class showjumper Arko.

He made no secret that the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the race he craved to win most and, after the failures of One Man, Neptune Collonges and Protektorat in racing's blue riband, his purchases over the past few years were largely with an eye on the Gold Cup.

Along with Ferguson, Mason and Peter Done, Hales spent big to secure the promising Kalif Du Berlais from France, and the same combination of owners broke the world record price for a jumps horse in training sold at public auction to buy Grade 1-winning grey Caldwell Potter in February 2024 for €740,000.

Hales was not shy about the fact both were bought as potential Gold Cup winners of the future. Should either fulfil that destiny, it would be a fitting tribute to an owner who adored his horses as much as he did his racing.