Former jockey and leading talent-spotter Gerry Griffin dies at age of 73

Gerry Griffin, the former jockey who spotted future stars Monet's Garden and Simply Ned at the sales, has died at the age of 73.

Griffin rode a dozen winners in his native Ireland before joining Arthur Stephenson in Britain in 1967 and enjoying plenty of success as a hurdles jockey.

He won the Victor Ludorum Hurdle and the Princess Royal Handicap Hurdle twice and his contemporary John James recalled: "He was a very stylish jockey, you'd never see his backside bumping up and down in the saddle. He was a great character in the weighing room, there was always a laugh and a joke with him."

After retirement from the saddle, Griffin proved an invaluable aide to Gordon and then Nicky Richards in the sales ring, finding future Grade 1 winners Simply Ned, who was bought for €23,000, and Monet's Garden (£35,000) before they had run.

"It's very sad," Richards said. "We had some great days hunting about in Ireland looking for horses and I couldn't praise him enough. He was a brilliant man. He worked with father and then with me and his record proved he was a real top man. He found plenty of good horses."

Simply Ned was retired in October after winning more than £360,000 in prize-moneyCredit: Caroline Norris

Griffin also helped trainer Nick Alexander, who said: "He was a fantastic judge of an animal. He could see potential in horses at the store sales that others might not see. He was a very good judge of what made a racehorse.

"He used to come up and stay a couple of times a year and he was very helpful and very generous with his advice the whole time. When my horses weren't quite right one year he put me in touch with the Irish Equine Centre, who were absolutely top notch."

Griffin is survived by his wife Kate, a son and two daughters. Funeral details in due course.

Read all about the two biggest stars Gerry Griffin found:

Legendary chaser Monet's Garden has died at the age of 20

From the archives: the Monet's Garden team tell the story of their stable star

'He was the little punters' horse' - popular chaser Simply Ned retired aged 13

Simply Ned: the public's outsider, a flamboyant, attractive, tremendous jumper