Walter Robert John Swinburn (7 August 1961 – 12 December 2016) was a

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, 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 spor ...

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 ...

and trainer who competed in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and internationally.

Biography

Walter Swinburn Racing Stables in Aldbury

Swinburn was born in Oxford. He was the son of

Wally Swinburn Walter Robert Swinburn, (born 1937), is a retired jockey who competed in Flat racing. He was Irish flat racing Champion Jockey in 1976 and 1977, and was the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a season in Ireland. He was based at various times in ...

, who won the Irish flat racing Champion Jockey title in 1976 and 1977 and was the first jockey to record over 100 winners in an Irish flat season. Nicknamed the "Choirboy", he rode his first winner, Paddy's Luck, on 12 July 1978 at Kempton Park but gained considerable fame for riding the superstar

Shergar Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...

to victory in The Derby in 1981 by a record 10 lengths. Swinburn went on to win the Derby two more times. In 1983, he rode

All Along All Along (7 April 1979 – 23 February 2005) was a champion Thoroughbred mare that was foaled and trained in France. She was one of the top European fillies since World War II. While she mostly raced in Europe, the filly also won top-le ...

to victory in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

then the filly captured 1983

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

honors with three straight major event wins in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

: the Washington, D.C. International at

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

, the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses from three years of age and upwards on Turf. It is held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is . History The Cana ...

(Rothmans International) at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and the Turf Classic at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

Jamaica, New York Jamaica is a neighborhood in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, Queens, Hollis, ...

. In 1996 he rode Pilsudski to victory in the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

and the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...

at Iffezheim Racecourse in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Swinburn spent four days in a coma after a fall in 1996, which was thought to have caused him to develop epilepsy, and he retired from racing in 2000.

Trainer

After retiring as a winner of numerous

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 ...

races, including eight British Classics, Swinburn began working as a licensed trainer in 2004 and operated Walter Swinburn Racing Stables based at Church Farm in

Aldbury Aldbury () is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, near the borders of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in the Bulbourne valley of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The nearest towns are Tring and Be ...

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. At the end of the 2011 UK Flat Season Walter Swinburn gave up his flat training licence.

Personal life

Swinburn married Alison Harris, the daughter of Peter Harris, a retired horse trainer, entrepreneur and multimillionaire in 2002. They had two daughters, Claudia and Camilla. His family home was

Stocks House Stocks Manor House is a large Georgian mansion, built in 1773. It is the largest property in the village of Aldbury, Hertfordshire. Stocks House and its manorial farm is an estate surrounded by of National Trust Ashridge Forest and the ...

, a golf spa hotel and resort purchased by Harris in 2004 and converted for domestic use. Swinburn died in London on 12 December 2016 at the age of 55. An inquest in January 2017 heard that Swinburn had fallen from a bathroom window, and the coroner ruled his death an accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinburn, Walter 1961 births 2016 deaths British racehorse trainers English jockeys People educated at Rockwell College Sportspeople from Oxford