PA to Tim Forster and a friend to all, has died at 94

Marigold Coke, personal assistant to Grand National-winning trainer Tim Forster in his heyday and a friend to many of racing’s household names, has died aged 94.

A renowned horsewoman and a champion point-to-point rider in the west country, Coke joined Forster in the early 1970s and ran the logistics of the Letcombe Bassett yard until retiring when Forster moved to the Shropshire base where Henry Daly now trains.

Besides being home to Grand National winners Well To Do, Ben Nevis and Last Suspect, and providing a host of good winners for established jockeys like Graham Thorner and Hywel Davies, Letcombe Bassett was renowned for nurturing the careers of younger jockeys including Richard Dunwoody, who went on to be three-times champion jockey, Luke Harvey, Carl Llewellyn, Chris Maude, Brendan Powell and Jamie Railton.