Death of 'Noble Lord' John Oaksey, aged 83

RACING:PETER O'SULLEVAN led the tributes to racing pioneer John Oaksey, who died yesterday morning at the age of 83.

The former amateur jump jockey, journalist, author, broadcaster and founder of the Injured Jockeys Fund passed away at his family home in Wiltshire following a lengthy period of ill health.

He will always be associated with his work for injured jockeys, which began when Tim Brookshaw and Paddy Farrell suffered serious injuries at Aintree in the 1963-64 jumps season. He founded the charity in 1964 and was chairman from 1982-2002, after which he was president.

“He was a splendid man, one of my great heroes and he found everything quite light and entertaining,” said O’Sullevan, BBC’s “voice of racing” for 50 years.

“He wrote like a dream and was a wonderful influence altogether. He did not have any natural ability riding, it was pure application, but he did become most successful.

“I had the great joy of calling him home in the Hennessy in 1958 on Taxidermist when it was run at Cheltenham. He just got beat in the Grand National in 1963 on Carrickbeg and he was always telling the story of the man he met on the underground, who said ‘you were the man who got tired before his horse’!”

Born John Lawrence on March 21st, 1929, he was the son of Geoffrey Lawrence, the 1st Baron Oaksey, who was chief judge at the Nuremberg trials after the second World War. Educated at Eton and Yale, Oaksey was an enthusiastic amateur rider and enjoyed considerable success.

He was a renowned writer for the Daily Telegraph and was a member of ITV Seven from 1969 and, later, Channel 4’s racing team. He retired from broadcasting in 1999.

However, even in his retirement, Oaksey continued to make an impact in the shape of the steeplechaser Carruthers.

Channel 4 Racing and At The Races pundit John McCririck was a long-standing colleague and friend of Oaksey, and coined the phrase ‘My Noble Lord’.

“The Noble Lord was the last of the gifted English Corinthians,” he said. “John had a love, enthusiasm and understanding of racing that was inspirational. His passing deprives us of a man who gave so much and nurtured the best in mankind while ignoring the worst.”

Clare Balding, presenter, writer and broadcaster and soon to lead Channel 4 Racing’s team, paid her respects. She tweeted: “Very sad to hear that Lord Oaksey has died. A great racing broadcaster and writer who was kind, considerate and had great integrity.”