Mark Bradstock: the small-scale trainer who defied the odds to win jump racing's ultimate prize

It is no slur to say that Mark Bradstock will be remembered for one horse above all others. Not when he achieved something so extraordinary with that horse.

Coneygree's Cheltenham Gold Cup win was a remarkable story of success against the odds for a small trainer, who nursed a chaser through physical setbacks then defied the experts to land the most prestigious prize in jump racing.

And it brought the house down because the horse was bred by the late Lord Oaksey, a hugely popular jockey, writer and TV presenter and the father of Bradstock's wife and assistant Sara.

Plaid Maid was bought for £2,000 to give Oaksey an interest in retirement. She won five times, with workaholic 20-time champion jockey Tony McCoy memorably saying of her: "She tries as hard as I do."

But she had frail legs and her son Coneygree was none too easy to train, so that he had had just seven races over jumps when he faced the starter on Gold Cup day in 2015.

Coneygree suffered a pelvic stress fracture after his novice hurdle season and then nicked the back of the tendon and was sidelined for 22 months altogether.

Yet Bradstock prided himself on the individual care his team could give to their small string at his Letcombe Bassett yard in Lambourn, former base of three-time Grand National winner Tim Forster.

Attention went to the tiniest detail, he once pointed out proudly: "Most of our horses stand in the cress beds on their way home from work which is a great way to stop any build up of inflammation in tendons, joints or shins."

TLC worked as Coneygree was a revelation when he finally started chasing.

He blitzed the opposition on his first two starts in novice company then did the same to seasoned rivals in the Denman Chase at Newbury.

Coneygree leads the field on his way to winning the 2015 Cheltenham Gold CupCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The eight-year-old looked a certainty for the then RSA Novices' Chase, his obvious option at Cheltenham. Yet he was aimed at the Gold Cup, which no novice had won since Captain Christy 41 years previously. "We had 30 emails saying how stupid we were being," Sara Bradstock later recalled.

But Coneygree joyously proved the keyboard sceptics wrong, jumping spectacularly in partnership with the similarly inexperienced Nico de Boinville, not long out of his claim, and making every yard for an exhilarating success.

Not that Bradstock himself enjoyed it as it happened. He recalled: "I honestly didn't think he would win at any point apart from when they crossed the line. I can go through a packet of fags and do a lot of walking during a race and occasionally look at the screen. I couldn't really watch the race."

Runner-up Djakadam was trained by Willie Mullins, who is part of a racing dynasty whereas Bradstock who "always wanted to ride" dodged the family insurance business after being bought a horse by his father David "to get them out of my system".

He won 18 races as an amateur over jumps, including three for the Queen Mother on The Argonaut, and got the perfect grounding with five years as assistant to five-time champion Fulke Walwyn, who forecast: "His ability to get on well with both owners and stables staff, coupled with his natural understanding of horses and the running of a successful yard stand him in good stead as a top-class trainer."

Bradstock took out a licence in 1988 and sent out his first winner when Deep Impression scored at 25-1 at Wincanton under Walwyn's stable jockey Kevin Mooney.

Nico de Boinville and Mark Bradstock after the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup

His first success at the Cheltenham Festival, where his mentor sent out a then record 40 winners, came when King Harald landed the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase under Mattie Batchelor in 2005.

That winner went on to illustrate his trainer's skill at nursing a horse back to fitness by returning from a year off with a broken off-fore leg to win three good chases in 2007-08.

It was demonstrated even more by his handling of Plaid Maid's first foal, Carruthers, who finished fourth in the Gold Cup in 2010 then suffered a cut fetlock and lost his form.

Bradstock got him back right, so that he scored an emotional victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup in 2011. A frail Oaksey watched the race at home but Sara and his family were at Newbury for a joyful celebration.

Bradstock's knack for spotting cheap horses and skill at producing them right on the day did not earn him a big string and he never sent out more than nine winners in a season.

Carruthers clears the water jump en route to an emotional victory in the Hennessy Gold CupCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

But although injury prevented Coneygree from reaching the heights that looked possible on Gold Cup day, Step Back showed the trainer still had what it took when bolting up by 13 lengths in the bet365 Gold Cup in 2018 on just his fourth run in a chase.

Bradstock is survived by Sara and by children Alfie, a gold medal-winning international eventer and showjumper who was responsible for Coneygree's schooling, and Lily, who rode the pony which led the Gold Cup winner at home.

Mark Bradstock CV

Full name Mark Fitzherbert Bradstock

Born November 5, 1959

Father David Bradstock (insurance broker)

Wife Sara, daughter of John Oaksey (married 1987)

Riding career 18 wins as amateur rider over jumps 1980-87, including three for the Queen Mother on The Argonaut

Assistant to Fulke Walwyn, Lambourn 1983-88

Stables as trainer Mabberleys, East Garston, Berkshire 1988-94; Old Manor Stables, Letcombe Bassett, Oxfordshire from 1994

First winner as trainer Deep Impression (jockey Kevin Mooney) handicap hurdle, Wincanton, November 10, 1988

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree (2015 as a novice)

Coneygree's other big-race wins 2012 Hyde Novices' Hurdle, Bristol Novices' Hurdle, 2014 Berkshire Novices' Chase, Kauto Star Novices' Chase (Grade 1), 2015 Denman Chase, Future Stars Chase

Other Cheltenham Festival winner King Harald (2005 Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase)

Hennessy Gold Cup winner Carruthers (2011)

bet365 Gold Cup winner Step Back (2018)

Other big-race wins Carruthers (2008 Leamington Novices' Hurdle, 2009 Reynoldstown Novices' Chase, Mandarin Chase, 2013 West Wales National)

Last winner Mr Vango, Devon National, Exeter, February 23, 2024

Highest-rated horse Coneygree (RPR 178 in 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup)

Cheltenham Festival wins 2

Grade 1 wins 2

Most wins in a season 9 in 2003-04

Total wins as trainer 126 (all jumps)

Compiled by John Randall

Mark Bradstock

Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer hailed as 'a character and a great person' after death aged 66