Praise for trainer who 'could get inside a horse's head'

Kieren Fallon
Dandy could get inside a horse's head. He got a lot of ordinary horses from big stables and turned them into Group horses - Group 1 horses even. He had a great way with them and I rode a lot of winners for him. I hope he'll be back one day.

Silvestre de Sousa
I'm sad he's retiring. I rode a lot of winners for him, and for me he'll always be a top trainer. My wife Vicky was apprenticed to him and rode quite a few winners too. That's where I met her. He knew his horses inside out. He was a very good horseman and had a special way with sprinters.

Franny Norton
I was riding with Dandy before he started training. When I lost my claim I was really struggling but Dandy was up and running by then and got me right back on track. He was there for me in the dark days and without his help who knows where l'd be. He's always been a father figure to me and to this day I still call him 'dad'. Some people misread him, but he has a massive heart. He started a lot of apprentices out and gave a lot of jockeys chances when nobody else would.

Kevin Ryan
It's a shame to hear Dandy's retiring. He bought horses very well, seeing something in them that maybe others had missed, and he had an unconventional way of going about things. He didn't even have a gallop when he started out but still produced horses at the top level. He had a very good career and was a very good trainer all round, especially with all those Ayr Gold Cup winners and the Group 1 sprinters.