Lord John FitzGerald (3 March 1952 – 3 August 2015) was an Irish nobleman,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, racehorse trainer, and horseracing administrator. Lord John was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the second son of Gerald, 8th Duke of Leinster, and his second wife, Anne, daughter of Lt-Col Philip Smith, MC, TD. He was born in

and educated at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

Career

After

Millfield Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding ...

, FitzGerald trained at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

, and was commissioned into the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World ...

, with periods of service with the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

and in Cyprus. He reached the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Upon leaving the British Army FitzGerald entered the horseracing industry, he had in fact ridden extensively as an amateur jockey during his time in the British Army, and now pursued a career as a racehorse trainer in Newmarket. During his first season as licensed trainer, FitzGerald won the Norfolk Stakes at the 1986

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

meeting with the horse called Sizzling Melody who became a leading sprinter of his generation also winning the

Flying Childers Stakes The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is sch ...

at Doncaster, and the Prix du Petit Couvert at Longchamp as well as being placed in the 1987

William Hill Sprint Championship The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sc ...

at York. In 1992,

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the vice president and prime minister of the UAE. Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum bin Rashid ...

recruited FitzGerald to administer horseracing in Dubai, with the aim of establishing the necessary conditions regulatory environment needed to host top class international races. FitzGerald oversaw the creation of the internationally recognised Emirates Racing Authority, the expansion to world-class standards of the country's biggest racetrack, Nad Al Sheba, and the founding in 1996 of the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...

, the world's richest horse race. FitzGerald concluded his career by returning to Newmarket and working, up until his death, as racing manager for

Kirsten Rausing Kirsten Elisbet Rausing, DL (born 6 June 1952) is a Swedish businesswoman, who owns a third of the holding company Tetra Laval and sits on the company board alongside other members of her family. She was listed as the 150th richest individual ...

at the Lanwades Stud in Kennett.

Personal life

Lord John FitzGerald married Barbara Zindel (1956/1957), daughter of Andreas Zindel, of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, and wife Danielle, of

and

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, at St. Nicholas Church,

Chadlington Chadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village has five neighbourhoods: Brook End, Green End, Mill End, East End and West End. Archaeology There is a bowl barrow abo ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, on 11 December 1982; they divorced in 2013 and FitzGerald died on 3 August 2015. Lord and Lady John FitzGerald had two children: * Hermione FitzGerald (born Newmarket,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, 11 October 1985) *Edward FitzGerald (born Newmarket, Suffolk, 27 October 1988), married on 5 August 2017 to Laura Caroline Tellwright (1987), daughter of William Kirkland Tellwright (

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, April or June 1956) and wife (9 May 1981) Hon. Caroline Fiona Fitzherbert (13 October 1956), paternal granddaughter of William Anthony Tellwright (Stoke-on-Trent, January or March 1928) and wife (

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, October or December 1953) Dora J. Glazebrook (Marylebone, London, July or September 1934) and maternal granddaughter of Basil Francis Nicholas Fitzherbert, 14th Baron Stafford (7 April 1926 - 1986) and wife (16 June 1952) Morag Nada Campbell (

Southam Southam () is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, located about east-southeast of Leamington Spa. In the 2021 census, the population of Southam was 8,114. History Southam was a Royal ...

, October or December 1932), and has issue: **Eve FitzGerald (London, 24 March 2020). **Amelia FitzGerald (London, 2 October 2021) His daughter Hermione is a professional golfer. His son Edward is the current

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the dukedom and other family titles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzGerald, John, Lord Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards officers British racehorse trainers Younger sons of dukes 1952 births 2015 deaths People educated at Millfield Horse racing administrators

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Heirs presumptive