'He was a lovely kid' - Tim Vaughan pays tribute after death of former jockey Michael Byrne at 36

Michael Byrne, the former jockey who left a lasting impression on the racing communities in Wales and Ireland, died on Saturday at the age of 36.

Byrne was best known for his successful spell riding in Britain for Vale of Glamorgan trainer Tim Vaughan, who described his death as "tragic".

Having started in point-to-points in Ireland, he moved to trainer Peter Bowen before switching to Vaughan to ride as back-up to Richard Johnson, finishing second to Gavin Sheehan in the 2013-14 conditional jockeys' championship and gaining a total of 96 winners.

"He was a lovely kid from a lovely family and there's no other word to describe it than tragic," said Vaughan. "Michael worked for me for a good number of years and had nearly 600 rides and 61 winners for me. He was someone who had so much natural ability and a flair for life.

"He came to me after a few years with Peter and he took off. I put him up and thought he was a very talented lad. It's hit everyone in Welsh racing hard. He was very well liked and I truly feel sorry for his poor family."

Some of Byrne's most memorable moments came at Aintree as he partnered Big Time Billy to victory in a Listed mares' bumper in April 2010 and four years later he had a ride in the Grand National on Golan Way, who was a faller at Foinavon first time in the race won by Pineau De Re.

He teamed up with Carole's Destrier to win the Silver Plate at Kempton in March 2014 and was the regular rider of Take The Stand towards the end of the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up's career. 

Byrne called time on his riding career in Britain in 2016, citing financial issues, and returned home to Tipperary to work for his father Michael snr, the former jockey-turned-trainer, preparing horses for breeze-up sales.

Part of a family ingrained in Irish racing, he was latterly preparing point-to-pointers for his uncle Pat Doyle at the famed Suirview Stables academy.

Doyle said: "Michael was very successful as a jockey and was a brilliant horseman and it's very, very sad. 

"He was a great guy who was involved in horses and into his football. He had three brothers and two sisters and all the family are very close. He was a wonderful young man with a wonderful family around him and he'll be very sadly missed."

Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.