Henry Ryan Price (16 August 1912 – 16 August 1986) was a British

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

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 ...

in both flat and

National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...

. Born in Hindhead,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, he was best known by his middle name, Ryan. He began his career in

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

as a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

based at East Lavant in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. In 1937, he relocated to

Sutton Bank Sutton Bank is a hill in the former Hambleton District of the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire in England. It is a high point on the Hambleton Hills with extensive views over the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray. The A1 ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

where he began working as a trainer. His career was interrupted by service with the

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 ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Serving with the 7th Battalion of the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

, he was moved to the No. 6 Commando for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. During the 6 June 1944 landing, his Craft LCI(S) No.502 was hit by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

shelling as it approached the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

beach but he managed to swim to shore and continued with the mission. Discharged with the rank of captain, he resumed his Thoroughbred racing career and eventually settled in Findon, West Sussex where he operated at Downs House, Stable Lane.

National Hunt Champion Trainer

Between 1954 and 1967, Ryan Price was the Champion National Hunt trainer five times. Among his other wins, Price trained the winner of the 1955, 1959, and 1961

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

, the 1959 and 1966 Whitbread Gold Cup, the 1967 Mackeson Gold Cup and Champion Novices' Chase, the 1971

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme 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 on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance o ...

, and the 1962 & 1973 Triumph Hurdle. In 1962, he earned the most important win of his career when Kilmore won the

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 ...

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

. The following year the Schweppes Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle was inaugurated at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...

. Ryan Price won four of the first five runnings with horses ridden for him by Josh Gifford. The duo won the race back-to-back with Rosyth in 1963 and 1964, with Le Vermontois in 1966 and controversially with Hill House in 1967, and in 1969 he added to his major race wins when What a Myth captured the

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...

. An owner as well as a trainer, Ryan Price was among the first British trainers to purchase young jumpers from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Flat racing

In 1966, Ryan Price's horse Persian Lancer, won the 1966

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 ...

and after moving to Findon's facilities at Soldiers Field in early 1970, Price concentrated primarily on the Flat although still having hurdlers in training. For owner Charles A. B. St. George, he won the 1972

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

with Ginevra and the 1975 St. Leger Stakes with

Bruni Bruni can refer to: * Bruni (surname) * Bruni, Texas * Bruni (horse), an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse * Bruni Olympic .380 BBM blank firing revolver * a character from ''Frozen 2'' See also * Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Daruss ...

.
This is Findon; The downside of being a racing village The following year, Bruni won the Yorkshire Cup (horse race), Yorkshire Cup and the Cumberland Lodge Stakes and finished second to the French champion

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Pawneese in the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Plagued by health problems, Ryan Price gave up training in 1982 but remained involved in racing as an owner. Following emergency surgery, he died on his seventy-fourth birthday at Royal Sussex County Hospital in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. He was interred in the St. John the Baptist Church cemetery in Findon.

References

* Bromley, Peter. ''The Price of Success'' (Authorized biography of Ryan Price) (1982) Hutchinson & Co. {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Ryan 1912 births 1986 deaths North Staffordshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II British racehorse trainers People from the Borough of Waverley People from Findon, West Sussex People from Lavant, West Sussex Military personnel from Surrey