Popular Irish racing figure and sponsor Frank Ward dies aged 70

Curragh chief executive Pat Keogh has led the tributes to popular Irish racing figure and race sponsor Frank Ward, who died on Wednesday after a road traffic accident.

Frank Ward Solicitors sponsored the Arkle at Leopardstown for ten years and winners of the Grade 1 include superstars Un De Sceaux (2015) and Douvan (2016).

Keogh, who only recently vacated his role as Leopardstown chief executive to move to the Curragh, said Ward, 70, was everything
required of a sponsor.

Keogh said: "He sponsored the Irish Arkle for ten years and was very committed to Leopardstown racecourse, so it was great to see the race become a centrepiece of the Dublin Racing Festival.

Pat Keogh: 'Frank was a great man for advice and a truly great friend'Credit: Alain Barr (racingpost.com/photos)

"Sponsors make a huge and valuable contribution to racing and Frank was absolutely everything you would want in a sponsor."

He added: "Frank was a great man for advice and a truly great friend. If you needed a steer on something, Frank was always the right man to go to and he would give you his advice in his own Frank Ward way.

"I cannot believe he is gone and I have never seen as many people shocked about something in a long time. We have all lost a very dear friend. My heart goes out to his wife Mary, and the rest of his family."

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