'He was a well respected man' - tributes pour in as Shaun Keightley dies

Shaun Keightley, a "proper horseman" who rode a winner at the Cheltenham Festival before becoming a successful trainer, has died at the age of 62.

He was a dual-purpose jockey who rode more than 200 winners on the Flat and over jumps, and scored an unusual double in 1989 when he won the Coral Golden Hurdle Final on Rogers Princess in March before landing the Listed John of Gaunt Stakes with Weldnaas at Haydock three months later.

Keightley won the Coral Golden Hurdle Final at Cheltenham on Rogers Princess in 1989

Keightley won the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Phil The Fluter in 1983 during a 20-year riding career that ended in 1996.

He had two spells as a trainer, sending out nearly 50 winners from a yard in Exning, near Newmarket, in the second stint which ran from 2018 to 2021.

Josephine Gordon rode 25 winners for Keightley during that time and said: "It's very sad. He was a loved and well respected man, a brilliant jockey and a proper horseman. He'll be missed.

"He was a big supporter of mine, he was my boss and my mate as well. He was easy to ride for and you always had a good laugh.

"When it came to the track there was no instruction, just go out and do your best – and if he said they had a chance, they certainly did."

Former trainer Micky Quinn said: "I got to know him quite well when we were neighbours and he was a bubbly character, sharing jokes every morning – even when his illness took its toll, he was still battling and looking on the positive side of life.

"He could train, there's no doubt about it. He could lay one out and when the money was down you knew they wouldn't miss. That's an art form in itself."

Newmarket trainer Darryll Holland said: "It's very sad news. Shaun rented boxes from me a few years ago but I knew he hadn't been well in recent years.

"I don't think he let on how poorly he was and I texted him only the other day. It's tragic."

Keightley had left the training ranks under a cloud in 2005 when he was warned off for three years and banned from applying for a licence for a further two over the running and riding of Red Lancer in a seller at Wolverhampton two years previously.

But he stayed within racing, working for Matthew Salaman, Pat Murphy and Peter Makin before becoming assistant to Peter Hedger.

Read Alastair Down's account of Keightley winning at Cheltenham on Rogers Princess:

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