Elsie was a one-off - but here's why Alan King looks like his natural successor

Last week marked the end of a truly remarkable innings as David Elsworth, the greatest dual-purpose trainer of his generation, brought to a close a career spanning six decades and one that included big-race success from a Classic on the Flat to the Grand National.

Truth be told it was the worst-kept secret in racing that the man responsible for two of the most popular horses to ever set foot on a racecourse in Desert Orchid and Persian Punch was preparing to call it a day at his yard in Newmarket.

I've read with awe many of the CVs compiled by the Racing Post's historian John Randall but when it comes to the sheer variety of races on the Flat and over jumps won by one trainer, Elsworth's achievements are in a class of their own.