Bolger hails 'world's greatest gentleman' as Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Billy Boyers dies aged 93

Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Billy Boyers has died at the age of 93, with Enda Bolger hailing him the world's greatest gentleman and a pioneer who played an integral part in his own riding and training careers. 

Boyers' training base was at Rosses Point in County Sligo, where he used the local beaches to train his string, and he is best known for sending over Kilcoleman to win the County Hurdle at the festival in 1977 under Tommy Kinane. 

That proved to be a golden year for Boyers as the following month Ferdy Murphy steered Artistic Prince to success in the John Jameson Gold Cup, now known as the Punchestown Gold Cup. That horse was later sold to Jenny Pitman in the hope he could become a Grand National contender. 

Boyers enjoyed a purple patch during the late 1970s and early 1980s thanks mainly to the patronage of Paul Clarke, a young cattle dealer and exporter from Ballisodare near Sligo. 

Clarke and Boyers teamed up to win 50 races in the space of 50 months and Clarke's meteoric rise saw him crowned leading Irish jumps owner in 1980. One of their most memorable moments together arrived in the summer of 1980 when they won the Galway Plate with the Paddy Kiely-ridden Sir Barry. 

Clarke's departure from large-scale ownership in the mid-1980s brought the stable's prominence to an end, but Boyers continued to play a significant part in the racing life of the west of Ireland. He was an immensely popular figure and a mentor to many involved in racing in County Sligo, including a young Bolger, who paid tribute to the man who provided him with his first four winners as an amateur jockey. 

"He was the world's greatest gentleman," Bolger said of Boyers. "He was a terribly nice man and very proud of Sligo and Sligo racecourse. I'm going to miss him ringing me every Christmas morning, as he used to call every single year without fail and we'd have a great chat."

Bolger added: "Billy never had any more than 12 or 14 horses at any one time. I joined him in 1981, and he gave me my first four winners on the track. My first winner was Tireagh Prince in a bumper at Kilbeggan and he was also my second winner a couple of days later in a maiden hurdle at Roscommon. 

"He trained all his horses on the beach – they were never on grass until they got to a racetrack. He knew all the beaches up around Rosses Point like the back of his hand and knew the tides and when it was the proper time to gallop the horses. His head lad Michael McElhone was instrumental in all his big successes, too. Billy was just an all-round gentleman who will be missed greatly by everyone who was lucky enough to know him."

Billy was the husband of Jill and father of daughters Jackie, Jillian and Jennie. A celebration of his life will take place on Tuesday, October 8, at 4pm at The Foley and McGowan Funeral Home, Market Yard, Sligo. Reposing from 5pm to 7pm after the service. The event can be live-streamed on the funeral home's Facebook page. A private cremation service will take place the following day.