Leading trainer Bill Warner dies at 82

Bill Warner, who died last week at the age of 82, was a leading trainer of point-to-pointers and hunter chasers.

Based at Mears Ashby near Northamptonshire, where he farmed sheep and cattle and maintained a string of pointers, Warner and his wife Chris handled some very classy hunters such as Aintree Foxhunters’ Chase winner Sheer Jest plus Coolefind, Coole Glen and Union Man. Coolefind, who in May 2010 became his final winner when landing a hunters’ chase at Towcester, became his last runner a few weeks later when bowing out in the Pertemps Champion Hunters’ Chase at Stratford.

Well-known racehorse owners Lynn and Judy Wilson lived near the Warners, and while they enjoyed great success under rules with horses trained by Nicky Henderson – who saddled three Cheltenham Festival winners for the couple – they also kept numerous pointers with their near neighbour.

When Bill retired from training, Judy, whose husband had died, moved her horses to Stuart Morris, who had set up a yard having been stable jockey. Recalling his association with the Warners, Morris said: “They were short of a jockey and Bill said ‘Do you want to come and ride out?’ His style of training was what you would call old-fashioned. Grooming was done in that way – he strapped them and left no stone unturned. He was a very good stockman and his horses always looked really well. There were times when I didn’t agree with him, but he usually proved me wrong.”

Morris rode Coole Glen and Coolefind in the Wilson colours. On the first of those two he won Cheltenham’s two-mile hunters’ chase, while Coolefind carried him to wins at Newbury, Leicester and Huntingdon (twice) but missed out in attempts on Stratford’s Champion Hunters’ Chase, twice finishing third (once under Dickie Barratt) in a race that eluded Warner’s clutches on several occasions.

Union Man appeared to have the hunter chasing world at his feet and was unbeaten in one season for Warner. Morris said: “Union Man, who was owned by Philip Newton, was only with Bill for one season, but we won four races on the trot and then he went back to Henrietta Knight. I then won a Kempton hunters’ chase on him, but he went wrong on his next start and didn’t race again.

“Bill also trained Lynn Wilson’s Blue Royal, who had finished third in the Champion Hurdle behind Istabraq. He had some time off and it was decided to drop him into pointing with Bill. We won an open race at Garthorpe before he was retired.”

Warner’s best horse, Judy Wilson’s Sheer Jest, was in his pomp before Morris joined the stable. He won six point-to-points and 13 hunters’ chases, including Aintree’s Foxhunters’ Chase and Stratford’s novice championship for the John Corbet Cup. He won twice at Cheltenham, including victory in the two-miler, and was twice placed in Stratford’s Champion Hunters’ Chase. Only Elegant Lord, one of Ireland’s greatest hunter chasers, denied him victory at Punchestown.

Hill said: “Bill had one very big asset – his wife, Chris, who had been an international showjumper. She was also a very good stockwoman. From January 1 to June 1 their horses looked well-muscled and conditioned and well in their coats.

“Bill was a worrier and wanted everything right before he ran a horse. If he couldn’t get the right jockey or the course or ground were wrong his horses didn’t run – but he had a very good strike rate. How I ever got him to run Sheer Jest at Aintree I will never know.

“I only visited his yard three or four times but it was clear he loved sheep and cattle and adored horses.”

Hill met Warner when he was offered the ride on a mare called Batease. She ran at Cottenham, won, and their association was cemented, albeit there were occasional disagreements. Hill said: “Things weren’t always smooth but I had a great association with the man. When you rode his horses you knew they had a chance of winning.

“I had been riding Sheer Jest for some time when it was decided to run at Aintree. For a prep run Bill picked a race at Ludlow, which in those days had a much longer run-in from the final fence to the winning post. Sheer Jest was odds-on and the only danger appeared to be a horse [called Knockumshin] trained near Towcester by Sid Smith. Bill said, ‘Now don’t hit the front until as late as possible’ and I was thinking ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ve only ridden the horse about 20 times’.

“So I waited and waited, jumped the last and two strides later put his head in front. I could hear someone behind pick his stick up – shall we say he was being very persuasive – and he got up and beat me on Sid’s horse. Coming back in I could see Bill in his familiar flat cap and cigarette in his mouth, and he gave me a dressing down in the place reserved for the second horse. I felt quite humiliated.

“And you know who rode the winner? Richard Johnson. Perhaps in hindsight I was outridden. Next time out we won at Aintree and Bill and I had a good laugh about the incident.”

Warner is survived by his son Ben.