Lord Glitters owner and racing fanatic Geoff Turnbull dies aged 74

Geoff Turnbull, the Durham miner's son who traced his love of horses to his father's work with pit ponies and went on to own two Group 1 winners himself, has died at the age of 74.

For two decades, he and his wife Sandra have had their dark blue and pink diabolo colours carried to a succession of victories, with Mondialiste and Lord Glitters their outstanding performers.

Turnbull owned Elwick Stud, which announced: "Elwick is deeply saddened by the passing of our much loved CEO Geoff Turnbull MBE after a short battle with illness.

"Black armbands will be worn during racing today as a mark of respect for Mr Turnbull, who was a great ambassador for northern racing. We ask that the privacy of his family is respected at this very difficult time."

Lord Glitters wins the 2019 Queen Anne for Geoff TurnbullCredit: Edward Whitaker

Turnbull's runners at Pontefract were not taken out and Jedd O'Keeffe, who trained two of them and won the Fred Archer Stakes with Lord Yeats for the Turnbulls, said: "The family decided, quite rightly in my opinion, that Geoff would very much have liked them to run. He absolutely adored having runners, he was such a sportsman.

"His passing is really sad news, we're all feeling very glum about it. He was a huge influence and supported us really well for the last few years. We had some amazing days together. Lord Yeats was very special for us because I think he was Geoff's first Listed winner as a breeder.

"He was expanding his bloodstock empire and I know he had an ambition of seeing – and preferably owning – Mondialiste's first winner, which sadly isn't going to happen now. But it would be great to see the horse turn out to be a really good stallion."

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Turnbull started out as an apprentice toolmaker in Hartlepool at the age of 15 and went on to found the GT Group of companies, an environmental engineering business with an annual turnover of more than £50 million and a workforce of 300 people.

His first horse was La Sylphide, bought as a Christmas present for his wife and nicknamed Tinsel, who won seven times and became his foundation broodmare.

In 2007 the George Moore-trained Macorville came within a short head of fulfilling Turnbull's dream by winning the Northumberland Plate, a race that had always been close to his heart thanks to his father's time down the pit. "It was really the miners’ race in its early days, when they would be given the day off to attend," he recalled.

His first top-level winner was the David O'Meara-trained Mondialiste, who won the Woodbine Mile in Canada in 2015 and the Arlington Million in the US the following year.

Turnbull reckoned the pinnacle of his time in racing came when stablemate Lord Glitters took the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot last year.

Turnbull's flagship horse has been declared for the Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes on Saturday with regular partner Danny Tudhope booked to ride.

O'Meara said: "It is really sad news. He gave me a good few quid to buy Mondialiste, we were buying a horse to win the Lincoln and he ended up winning two Grade 1 races and going close in a Breeders' Cup Mile.

"Geoff always wanted a winner at Royal Ascot. In Lord Glitters we thought we were buying a horse for the Royal Hunt Cup and to win a Queen Anne was very special. Geoff got an awful lot of enjoyment out of it.

"He was an incredibly generous fellow and a brilliant man. He made a fortune from nothing, he had a brilliant mind. He was great company and a very grounded fellow despite his wealth and achievements."

Graham Lee rode two of the Turnbull runners at Pontefract and said: "God bless him and his family, he was a great supporter of northern racing. It's testament to him that he wanted his horses to run today."