The legend of Ginger McCain gets passed onto his son Donald after his death
Ginger Mc Cain passed away at the age of 80 after a short period of illness. He was born on 21st September, 1930, and was a National Hunt trainer by profession. He was a legendary trainer and grew famous, primarily due to the legendary horse himself,
Red Rum.
McCain's wife Beryl said, "Donald, Ginger as we all knew him, passed away peacefully in his sleep after a short illness this morning - he would have been 81 on Wednesday”.
His training career began in 1953 with getting a permit which in 1969 moved onto a full license.
It was his occupation as a taxi driver during which he encountered Noel le Mare who became the reason for Mc Cain acquiring Red Rum in the first place.
Mc Cain has the honour of training the winner of the Grand National four times, thrice it was Red Rum (1973, 1974 and 1977) and once it was Amberleigh House (2004).
The time span between his first and fourth victory was 30 years.
His retirement in 2006 from the Grand National led to the transfer of his license to his son Donald whom Mc Cain had trained immaculately throughout to take charge confidently and professionally whenever needed or required.
Donald did not let the family and now his late father's expectations down the drain or Mc Cain’s endless hard work go in vain.
He won this year’s race with Ballabriggs, being the representative from their base at Cholmondeley in Cheshire.
His death has come as a shock and loss for the horse racing fraternity as the Former leading National Hunt jockey Mick Fitzgerald told Sky Sports News:
"I'm very saddened. He leaves a legacy and every time you think of the Grand National, you think of Ginger. He was the National, to be honest. He was never afraid to speak his mind, he believed in what he was doing and he believed foremost in the Grand National
as a race”.
He did not have a monotonous style of training which was restricted to certain types of horses or for particular race or distances. He was known for being highly versatile in his field and he really and truly earned it for himself. He did not want his legacy
to end so he passed whatever was possible to his son.
“His son, Donald, has taken over the reins quite magnificently and won the National with Ballabriggs”, Mick told.
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