Death of Gold Cup-winning Adam Kondrat at age of 53

Adam Kondrat, who won two King George VI Chases and a Gold Cup on The Fellow in the 1990s, has died aged 53.

Confirming the news, and paying tribute to a rider he stuck by despite much criticism from the British press, trainer Francois Doumen said: "The memories have come flooding back today.

"Adam was a really lovely guy and I don’t need to say anything to prove what a good jockey he was, even if not everyone in England agreed. He won a Gold Cup which I think made the case pretty well.

"He came to me when he was very young from Mick Bartholomew, as he had put on 10kg in a year so there was no way he could stay as an apprentice on the Flat. Mick sent him to me and the memories of those years are extraordinary. At the moment I am just in shock."

The day The Fellow finally conquered Cheltenham's Everest

Francois Doumen calls time on glittering training career

The Fellow was a standing dish in Britain's big staying chases season after season and the Polish-born Kondrat partnered the gelding in five successive King Georges and four successive Gold Cups.

The Marquesa de Moratalla’s splendid jumper suffered agonising short-head defeats twice at Cheltenham, and it was not until his final attempt in 1994 that he gained a well-deserved victory at last, beating the 1993 winner Jodami by a length and a half. The following month he ran in Miinnehoma’s Grand National, where he was in fourth when falling at the Canal Turn second time round.

When The Fellow was second to Cool Ground in the 1992 Gold Cup Kondrat was relatively quiet in the saddle, whereas Adrian Maguire was at his strongest on the winner. However, the Marquesa de Moratalla insisted her horses were not ridden too vigorously, so it was out of his hands.

Francois Doumen: 'At the moment I am just in shock'Credit: Patrick McCann

In an interview with the Racing Post three years ago Doumen said: "You could say that with a McCoy aboard the horse would have won three Gold Cups. But I wasn't really known and there was no way that I would have been able to get a real crack jockey.

"I said to the Marquesa that the choice was either having a jockey who knew the horse really well or else taking an English jockey that was probably not out of the top drawer and who didn't know the horse. So I kept with Adam and finally it paid off."

Kondrat rode 403 winners, including no fewer than 49 Graded races, of which nine were Grade 1s. They included a Feltham Novices' Chase on Djeddah, two French Champion Hurdles on Ubu III, and a Prix Ferdinand Dufaure on Ucello II.

After retiring on his 44th birthday in 2010 Kondrat found he needed to take a different path in life. He later said: "There are very few advantages conferred by being an ex-jockey in France.

"It was difficult to turn my back on racing and on Chantilly, especially with nothing lined up. Racing is a passion, one that endures despite the difficulties and dangers it presents."

He opted for a complete change of pace, relocating to the south-west and setting up his own fruit and vegetable business, which allowed him to spend a lot more time with his wife Berenice, son Mickael and twin daughters Jennifer and Clara.