Persian Bold and Levaramoss' trainer Tony Ingham dies at age 74

Former Epsom trainer Tony Ingham has died. He was 74.

Ingham, who took over Thirty Acre Barn from his father Staff Ingham in 1977, enjoyed his biggest wins early in his career, landing the Richmond Stakes and the Horris Hill Stakes with Persian Bold in his first year in charge, when he also had a very talented but frustratingly wayward juvenile hurdler in Levaramoss.

Persian Bold went on to finish fifth in the 1978 2,000 Guineas on unsuitably soft ground and won the Heron Stakes and the John of Gaunt Stakes before retiring to stud, where he enjoyed significant success.

Levaramoss won the Tolworth Hurdle as a juvenile and later added the Free Handicap and the Salmon Spray Hurdle, in which he beat Kybo. However, he became increasingly unreliable at the start and was such a rogue that he was ultimately banned from racing.

Sprint handicappers Song Of Songs and Blue Linnet were among the winners Ingham trained for Jim Joel, who had another significant horse for the stable in Glowing Picture, though by the time the three-year-old's big day arrived he was in different ownership.

Glowing Picture was a relatively lowly rated staying handicapper, but Ingham had him perfectly primed for the day that mattered most and his 14-1 win at Sandown in 1988 reportedly netted the team a small fortune.

Ingham saddled his last British runners in 1989 and then trained in Macau before enjoying retirement in Australia. In recent years he had been living near Findon, close to his daughter Catharine and her husband Eamon Murphy, the former jump jockey.

Murphy said: “Tony was a very intelligent guy and a great entertainer. He enjoyed his family and was great fun to be with. He was very popular and leaves a lot of friends.”

David Wilson, who trained in Epsom at the same time as Ingham, said: “Tony was his own man and a bit of a law unto himself, but I found him very helpful. He did well with the material he had, placing his horses well and winning plenty of races with horses other trainers might have struggled with.”

Ingham is survived by daughters Catharine and Jennie, a brother Richard, and three grandchildren.

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