Trainer, journalist, author and documentary maker Ivor Herbert dies aged 96

Ivor Herbert, who trained 1957 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Linwell before going on to be a leading racing writer and author, has died. He was 96.

Described as “horse mad” from a young age by his son Nick, Herbert trained alongside full-time jobs in finance and then at the London Evening News, a circumstance that prevented him from officially holding a training licence with the Jockey Club.

Instead, Linwell, who Herbert trained for industrialist David Brown, the one-time owner of Aston Martin, triumphed at Cheltenham for jockey Michael Scudamore by a length from Kerstin under the name of Charlie Mallon, Herbert’s head lad.

Linwell went on to finish second to Mandarin in the inaugural running of the Hennessy Gold Cup (now Ladbrokes Trophy) at Cheltenham the same year, and finished second in the 1959 Cheltenham Gold Cup to Roddy Owen, having fallen when hampered in 1958.

Herbert continued to train a small string of horses into the 1960s enjoying success with the likes of Flame Gun (1959 Arkle winner), Gallery Goddess (1959 Cathcart Chase winner) and Maigret (third in the 1966 King George VI Chase to Arkle).

Ivor Herbert obituary: Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer and distinguished writer

He also founded a bloodstock agency with friend David Smyly and continued to write books and screenplays while training, including for the 1966 film The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery. He ceased training in 1968.

Herbert’s books on Arkle (Arkle: The Story of a Champion, 1966), Red Rum (Red Rum: Full and extraordinary story of a horse of courage, 1974) and Vincent O’Brien (Vincent O’Brien: The Official Biography, co-authored by Jacqueline O’Brien, 2005) would come to be viewed as the definitive texts of their subjects.

Herbert’s son Nick said: “He was horse mad right from the start and his win in the Gold Cup was something he would talk about all the time. It meant a great deal to him and was a massive part of his life.

“His descriptive writing was first rate and it took off with his book on Arkle and then Red Rum. He was able to get under the skin of the horses and the people. As he had been a pretty successful trainer the people he met and talked to, like Vincent O’Brien, trusted him. It’s a very closed world and he was able to get people to open up to him."

Herbert worked for the Sunday Express and then joined the Mail on Sunday in 1980, going on to become the paper’s lead travel writer and racing editor. In conjunction with Yorkshire TV, he made a number of racing documentaries and also collaborated with Princess Anne on her 1991 book Riding Through My Life.

Herbert died peacefully at home on January 5. He is survived by his son Nick and daughter Kate and grandson Joe. His daughter Jane predeceased him in 2019.