__NOTOC__ Mary Christiana Reveley (née Allison, 22 September 1940 – 30 October 2017) was an English racehorse trainer. She trained over 2,000 winners in a 26-year career, was the first woman to saddle 100 winners in a calendar year (in 1991), and also became the first female trainer to saddle 50 winners on the flat (in 1992).

Career

She was born on 22 September 1940 to Harry Allison, a farmer, at Groundhill Farm, Lingdale, Yorkshire, where she lived and trained throughout her life. She started training in 1978 and had her first winner, Hello Louis, on 26 May 1979 in a

maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

hunter chase at

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Furness (traditionally "Lancashire-over-the-Sands" (and in the ceremonial county of Cumbria), England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, a ...

. Her first winner on the flat was King Charlemagne at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 11 July 1983. Until 1981, she trained with a permit,A permit allows a person to train racehorses owned by themselves or relatives. and then with a full licence for 23 years. She trained from Groundhill Farm except for a short period in 1989-90, when she was based at Whitewall Cottages,

Malton, North Yorkshire Malton is a market town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshi ...

. She had remarkable success with Cab On Target, winning the

Grade 1 First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

Future Champion Novices' Chase, the Long Distance

Hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

at Newbury and

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, and the

West Yorkshire Hurdle The West Yorkshire Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain that is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Wetherby, West Yorkshire, over a distance of about 3 mil ...

twice, among a total of 20 wins from 46 races. Her other Grade 1 winner was Morgan's Harbour in the 1995

Sefton Novices' Hurdle The Sefton Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and hal ...

, while Marello was a multiple Grade 2 winner. Other major winners included Seven Towers in the Midlands Grand National in 1997 and Into The Red in the

Becher Chase The Becher Chase is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs ...

in 1994 and 1996.

Peter Niven Peter Niven (b. 7 Aug 1964) is a retired British jump jockey in National Hunt racing. In May 2001 he became the first Scotsman and sixth jockey to ride over 1,000 winners, eventually retiring in September that year with 1002 winners. At the time ...

was a regular jockey for her. On the flat, she won the

Cambridgeshire Handicap The Cambridgeshire Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 1 fur ...

in 1991 with 20-time winning former hurdler Mellottie, and the

Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 met ...

with Old Red and Turnpole in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Her son Keith said of the most successful era, "The yard was absolutely flying in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was a fantastic time and I don't think we appreciated it as much as we should have at the time. It was an unbelievable run and they were great days." At their peak, the stable had 120 horses. Her last winner was Spitting Image at

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on 8 August 2004, after which her son Keith took over the yard, now numbering 60 horses, although she continued to be involved in point-to-point racing. Her best season over jumps was 1999-2000 when she had 105 winners, though her highest position in the jump trainers' championship was fourth in 1996-97. On the flat, her highest position was 18th in 1993, and her highest win total was 84 in 1994. In total she had 1,330 winners over jumps and 680 on the flat. She died on 30 October 2017 at the age of 77. She collapsed while out in the yard with her horses. Son Keith said, "She has passed away doing something she absolutely loved."

Personality

According to racing journalist Cornelius Lysaght she seemed "a quiet, homely character, like your friend's lovely mother, but outward appearances clearly belied a steely inward resolve". Her stables were the "shrewdest of forces", especially in the north. On her retirement, The Guardian referred to her career as "one of the most remarkable of recent years", calling her a "canny granny". Her favourite racecourses were all near her home -

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 4,986 in the 2021 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. Etymology The name ''Sedgefield'' is of Old English origin. It ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and Kelso. She was a fan of soap operas.

Family

Mary married George Reveley in 1960, and had two sons - Keith, who was her assistant and took over the training licence in 2004, and John. Keith is father to James, a jockey, who shortly before her death made her a great-grandmother when he had his first child. James was crowned the champion national hunt jockey of France in 2016.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reveley, Mary 1940 births 2017 deaths British racehorse trainers People from Lingdale People from Saltburn-by-the-Sea Sportspeople from North Yorkshire