Racing figures attend funeral of Aldaniti's owner Nick Embiricos

Leading racing figures gathered to pay their respects to “inspiration” Nick Embiricos, the owner of fairytale Grand National winner Aldaniti, a long-time breeder and a driving force behind the Bob Champion Cancer Trust.

In a fitting tribute the theme to the 1984 film Champions – based on Aldaniti’s success and the similarly inspirational story of jockey Bob Champion – greeted the well-attended congregation of around 250 people at St Peter Ad Vincula Church in Sussex.

The service featured a lovely tribute from the Greek side of the family as well as words from Embiricos’s son and daughter.

Bob Champion also delivered a “brilliant, very funny” eulogy, touching on how Nick and his wife Valda kept his dream of riding in the National alive when he was recovering from cancer, the celebrations that happened after the success and the formation of the trust that bears his name.

Nicky Henderson, Ben Pauling, Andrew Wates, Nick Gifford, Richard Rowe, Henrietta Knight, Mike Cattermole and Ian and Justin Wadham were among the many names from racing in attendance.

The service also recognised Nick’s commitment to not only racing and breeding racehorses, but also his love of life and sense of fun.

Lucy Wilkinson, executive director of the charity, said: “Nick was an inspiration; we would not be where we are today without Nick.

“He was a kind man with a really big heart. I would say in the last 20 years of his life, the Bob Champion Cancer Trust was one of the most important things to him – he wanted to make a difference.”

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