David Raymond Cecil Elsworth (born 1939) is a retired

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

living in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was the trainer of

Desert Orchid Desert Orchid (11 April 1979 – 13 November 2006), known as ''Dessie'', was an English racehorse. The grey achieved a revered and esteemed status within National Hunt racing, where he was much loved by supporters for his front-running attac ...

, 1988

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

winner Rhyme 'n' Reason, and 1990

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the ...

winner Barnbrook Again; three horses among several top-class performers for over jumps and on the flat. David Elsworth was the champion national hunt trainer 1987–88. Elsworth also trained Persian Punch to win multiple staying races on the flat, whilst his sole classic success came with the 1990 Irish 1000 Guineas with In the Groove. Elsworth began his training career as an assistant to Ricky Vallance at Bishops Cannings in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in the early 1970s. When Vallance lost his training licence Elsworth took a job as a market trader before setting up as a trainer in his own right.

References

1939 births Living people British racehorse trainers {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub