Legendary English horse trainer dies aged 82 after Hall of Fame career that saw him earn £70million
pBorn in Hertfordshire, Sheppard became a Hall of Fame trainer in the US and dominated the chasing sphere across the pond./p
figure id=attachment_23710038 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 674pximg decoding=async fetchpriority=high src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/24-10-08-breeders-cup-841205224.jpg?strip=allamp;w=664 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23710038 width=664 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditRACINGFOTOS.COM/figcredit/figureSheppard made an absolute fortune in racing and the sport has lost a giant after his death aged 82[/caption]
pBut he was not without success in his native country and had a runner-up in the 1987 Champion Hurdle with Flatterer./p
pThat horse became the only one in history to win the American steeplechase Triple Crown and contributed to Sheppard#8217;s astonishing 1,242 wins over jumps and £19.6million winnings./p
pHe was leading trainer 26 times over jumps and won the money title 29 times, both records #8211; but also had success on the Flat./p
pForever Together won the 2008 Breeders#8217; Cup Filly amp; Mare Turf and Informed Decision gave him another victory in the same race a year later./p
pSheppard made it into the racing Hall of Fame in 1990 and only stopped training for good in 2021./p
pIn total he amassed 3,426 wins including Flat victories and a staggering £70m in winnings./p
pHe could turn his training talents to anything and had winners over jumps, on turf and on dirt./p
pBorn in Ashwell in December 1940, Sheppard moved to America in 1961 after a stint as a jockey didn#8217;t really work out here./p
pHe tried it as a rider in the States but found little success there either, returning to England./p
pBut he fancied another crack at the States and made the journey back in 1965 where he soon struck up a partnership with multi-millionaire George Strawbridge, the grandson of the Campbell Soup founder./p
pThe pair worked together for decades and Strawbridge owned their Breeders#8217; Cup heroine Forever Together./p
pSheppard died at his home in Florida after complications from Lyme Disease./p
pHe leaves behind Cathy, his wife of 33 years, and their three children./p
pSheppard#8217;s death comes just days after the a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23653317/lady-chryss-oreilly-dead-aged-73/passing of another racing titan in Lady Chryss O#8217;Reilly/a./p
pThe influential owner-breeder and wife of Lions rugby legend Sir Anthony passed away aged 73./p