A man for all seasons: David Elsworth's best horses over jumps and on the Flat

1 Desert Orchid

Champion steeplechaser for five consecutive seasons from 1986-87 and supreme over the entire distance range, Desert Orchid won the King George VI Chase four times and, despite always running well below his best at Cheltenham, triumphed in the 1989 Gold Cup in an epic race voted the greatest of all time by Racing Post readers.

The many other big prizes won by the grey included the Whitbread Gold Cup, Tingle Creek Chase, Racing Post Chase (RPR 189) and Irish Grand National.

For his class, versatility, toughness, durability, courage, popularity, exhilarating front-running style and sheer charisma, 'Dessie' remains unsurpassed.

2 In The Groove

Elsworth's best Flat horse and his only Classic winner, In The Groove was the champion three-year-old filly of 1990 after landing the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Juddmonte International and Champion Stakes (RPR 128), and as a four-year-old she added the Coronation Cup.

In beating top-class older males in those last three races she eclipsed her contemporary Salsabil, who, unfairly, received more publicity for beating colts in the Irish Derby.

3 Barnbrook Again

This paragon won the Queen Mother Champion Chase decisively in 1989 and is still fondly remembered for his repeat victory in the race 12 months later, when he had a battle royal with Waterloo Boy all the way up the hill and edged home by half a length.

Barnbrook Again (far side) and Waterloo Boy fly the final fence of the 1990 Queen Mother Champion Chase in unisonCredit: Gerry Cranham

Barnbrook Again had been third to See You Then in the Champion Hurdle, and possessed enough stamina to come second to Desert Orchid in the King George VI Chase.

4 Oh So Risky

Having run away with the 1991 Triumph Hurdle by 12 lengths, Oh So Risky was twice second in the Champion Hurdle. In 1992 he just gave best to Royal Gait in a driving finish and in 1994 Flakey Dove took advantage of her sex allowance.

He was beaten a short head under 12st in the Tote Gold Trophy (now Betfair Hurdle) and proved a Group 3 winner on the Flat, in the Prix Gladiateur.

5 Norse Dancer

Owned by Jeff Smith, Norse Dancer was unreliable and never won above Group 3 level, yet he may have been the best colt Elsworth ever trained on the strength of his placed efforts.

He came second in the Juddmonte International and to Azamour in both the Irish Champion Stakes and (at 50-1) the 2005 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Newbury, having been third (at 100-1) in the 2,000 Guineas and fourth in the Derby in 2003.

6 Cavvies Clown

The year before Desert Orchid's Gold Cup triumph, stablemate Cavvies Clown had come second in the race. He was beaten six lengths by Charter Party and would have finished closer but for a blunder when leading at the second-last.

A small gelding, he won the SGB Chase at Ascot but was the cause of Elsworth's career nadir, as he was disqualified after testing positive for steroids following three wins in January 1988. The trainer was fined £17,500.

7 Rhyme 'N' Reason

In the most astonishing Grand National recovery by any horse who went on to win the race, Rhyme 'N' Reason (carrying 11st) blundered so badly at first Becher's in 1988 that he was knocked back to last place, but he rallied under Brendan Powell to beat Durham Edition by four lengths.

Rhyme 'N' Reason sprawling at the back in the Grand National that he went on to winCredit: (Cranhamphoto.com)

He had won the Anthony Mildmay Peter Cazalet Chase and Racing Post Chase and, for his previous trainer David Murray Smith, the 1985 Irish Grand National.

8 Persian Punch

The people's horse, this gallant stayer equalled the record (now held by Stradivarius) for the most European Flat Pattern wins, with 13 between 1997 and 2003.

None came in a Group 1 yet he won three Jockey Club Cups, two Goodwood Cups and a Doncaster Cup, and was also runner-up twice in the Ascot Gold Cup and third twice in the Melbourne Cup. Jeff Smith's gelding was 11 when he collapsed and died at Ascot in 2004.

9 Heighlin

Heighlin embodied the dual-purpose nature of Elsworth's operation by numbering races at both the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot among his ten victories in one calendar year, 1980.

Having caused a 40-1 upset in the Triumph Hurdle, he won eight Flat handicaps including the Ascot Stakes and Goodwood Stakes, and added the HSS Hire Shop Hurdle at Ascot. He won the Goodwood Cup in 1982 but failed in three Champion Hurdles.

10 Floyd

Although just below championship class, Floyd was the hurdling equivalent of Desert Orchid, especially in his game front-running style and his durability.

He scored two victories in the Fighting Fifth and Kingwell Hurdles, and one each in the Imperial Cup, County Hurdle and Bula Hurdle, between 1985 and 1989. He then came fourth in Beech Road's Champion Hurdle and, having lost some of his speed, won the Long Walk and Rendlesham Hurdles.

Read more on David Elsworth:

A legend bows out: David Elsworth calls time on remarkable training career

Dessie: the dashing grey who captured the hearts of the nation in a golden era

The story of Persian Punch: the extraordinary stayer who only knew how to fight

'I'm a bad-tempered old sod' – inside the mind of training legend David Elsworth

The Racing Post Annual 2022 is here! Look back on a star-studded year in this fabulous 224-page book packed with the best stories and pictures. The perfect gift at £14.99. Order from racingpost.com/shop or call 01933 304858 now!