'Tremendous enthusiast' Lady Mimi Manton dies at age of 97

Lady Mimi Manton, a “tremendous enthusiast” for racing, successful owner and the widow of former senior steward Lord Manton, has died at the age of 97.

She was the twin sister of Evie Stockwell, mother of Coolmore supremo John Magnier, and the pair loved their racing; they had a combined age of 186 in the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket after Fairyland won the Cheveley Park Stakes in Stockwell’s colours in 2018.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien said: "She was a very special lady. We knew her through Mrs Stockwell and we used to meet her at the races, especially at York. She had an unbelievable interest and passion and knowledge of racing. I was so sorry to hear of her passing."

The sisters also celebrated their longevity in the naming of the filly We Are Ninety, who Hugo Palmer trained to win at Listed level in 2016 and finish sixth in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.

"She was a wonderful woman and a tremendous enthusiast for the sport," Palmer said. “We Are Ninety was a 90th birthday present from Peter Magnier, her nephew, and she was a lovely filly who won the Bouquetot Listed race at Newbury and ran well in the Ribblesdale.”

Lady Manton still had horses with Palmer and Richard Fahey, for whom Have Secret carried her colours to victory in a nursery at Haydock this month.

"We trained for her through my assistant Robin O'Ryan, who knew her for 40 years, and she was a wonderful woman," Fahey said.

Her husband, who died in 2003, won the Kim Muir Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Gay Monarch in 1955 before becoming a successful owner-breeder.

After their son Miles won the Grand Military Gold Cup on Silver Stick at Sandown in 1998, and he was presented with the trophy by the Queen Mother, Lord Manton reportedly told her: “I saddled the horse; I bred the horse – and the jockey."

He was a director at Thirsk and chaired the York committee, while also being a member of the Levy Board and serving as senior steward of the Jockey Club from 1982 to 1985 – at a time when that body still ran British racing.

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