HE ALWAYS had something to say, however controversial or funny it might have been. However, there aren’t many trainers around in horse racing like Ginger McCain, and it is unlikely that we will see any more like him again. McCain’s brave battle with cancer ended as he passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday morning. He was 80, just two days short of his 81st birthday. Ginger’s dedication into saving the Grand National in the 1970s and the relationship with legendary racehorse Red Rum will always be fondly remembered. Sadly, he is no more.
Mick Fitzgerald, who won the Grand National on Rough Quest in 1996 and rode for McCain on many occasions, summed up the feelings of many when hearing the news. He told Sky Sports News; “Everytime anyone had anything negative to say about the Grand National, you could almost see Ginger’s blood boil. He would fight for the National – as far as he was concerned, it was the world’s greatest horse race.” Few could argue with that sentiment.
Ginger McCain will always been best known for being the trainer of the greatest horse to have ever lived, Red Rum. Although there have been great jump horses in more recent times, such as Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star; none can hold a candle to Red Rum. McCain would train Red Rum on a beach near Liverpool and the fond relationship between the pair would end up culminating in the greatest combination to have ever graced the Grand National. Red Rum won the world’s greatest steeplechase three times for McCain, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. He finished second in the same event in 1975 and 1976. They still had a close relationship until 1995, when Red Rum was put down and buried on the Aintree racecourse. There will only be one Red Rum, as he once famously said; “Losing the wife? There are 2.5million women in this country – what a daft thing to say – but there was, and always will be, only one Red Rum.”
Legendary retired horse racing commentator Peter O’Sullevan summed up the relationship, telling the BBC of the legacy between the pair; “Red Rum had very delicate, tender feet and had been with several skilful trainers before Ginger bought him. Of course, he trained on the sands at Southport. I don’t think we’d ever have heard of Red Rum if he’d gone anywhere else. He will always be remembered for Red Rum – and rightly so because he and the horse appeared absolutely at the right time and were very much instrumental in saving the National at a period when it was very much in peril.”
Red Rum wasn’t McCain only success in the Grand National and his legendary status was ensured when he won the race for the fourth time with Graeme Lee onboard, taking the spoils on Amberleigh House in 2004. Only Fred Rimell can claim to have had as much success in the training stakes at the National. Two years later, Ginger trained three horses in his final National before handing over control of his racing license and stables to his son, Donald.
This April, a rather frail Ginger McCain would make his final appearance at Aintree, but would see success as Donald won his first National as a trainer. Ballabriggs and Jason Maguire took the honours. After the race, he said this about his son; “He’s bred to do the job and he’s done it, so why should I be proud of him? Of course I’m very proud; he’s a bloody good trainer.”
Despite never winning an event at the Cheltenham Festival, it is the Grand National that will always be remembered with Ginger McCain’s legacy. Top jockey AP McCoy wrote on Twitter his thoughts on the sad loss of a racing great; “Sad to hear about the death of Aintree legend Ginger McCain, trainer of the great Red Rum. My thoughts are with his family. R.I.P.”
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| Ginger McCain - 21 September 1930 - 19 September 2011 |
Born in Southport in 1930, Ginger McCain began training horses way back in 1962, using small stables behind his used-car store in the area. He didn’t do bad then to win four Nationals and be part of some of Aintree’s greatest memories. Horse racing has lost one of its most colourful figures and it now feels fitting that Ginger was there this year to see his son continue the proud McCain tradition of success at the Grand National. He will be sorely missed by everyone in horse racing and next year’s Grand National meeting won’t quite feel the same without the presence of Ginger McCain – A Grand Legacy.
Ginger McCain – 21 September 1930 – 19 September 2011 - RIP
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