'Shrewd, kind and fair' - former trainer Wintle dies aged 77

Former trainer David Wintle, perhaps best known for his association with useful handicap chasers The Gopher and The Outback Way, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 77 following a long battle with cancer.

The Gopher contested the 2000 Grand National won by Papillon, while The Outback Way proved a real money-spinner for Wintle before joining Venetia Williams.

Wintle sent out over 350 winners under both codes in a career stretching back to the 1970s before handing in his licence in 2008.

He was fined by the Jockey Club in 2003 having been found to have prevented a horse reaching its best possible placing and for bringing the sport into disrepute after featuring in the notorious BBC undercover investigation Kenyon Confronts.

Wintle's nephew Adrian, now a successful trainer in his own right, said: "I worked for him for a number of years and he taught me a lot.

"He was a very shrewd man, but always kind and fair. He'd help anyone if he could. He was a great character, and I've been overwhelmed by the amount of tweets I've seen from lads or lasses who worked for him.

"Professionally he was well respected as a shrewd operator, but he was very kind-hearted. I'll miss my uncle greatly."

A funeral service will be held for Wintle at Little Rissington Church, near Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, next Wednesday at 2.30pm.