Late Irish training legend leaves estate worth over €4 million

Edward O’Grady, the Tipperary man who became a leading figure in Irish National Hunt racing, has left an estate valued at over €4 million.

O’Grady died in July 2025 at the age of 75 after a short illness. He was champion jumps trainer in Ireland four times between 1977 and 1980 and saddled a total of 18 winners at the Cheltenham Festival.

From his yard in Tipperary he trained almost 1,700 winners. Papers published by the Probate Office record the estate at €4.09 million.

O’Grady had taken over training responsibilities at Killeens, Ballynonty, in January 1972 while still a veterinary student at University College Dublin. His first Cheltenham Festival winner came in 1974 with Mr Midland in the National Hunt Chase.

Among the horses he trained, Golden Cygnet stood out after winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 1978 in impressive style, only to suffer a fatal injury a month later at Ayr.

More recent Festival successes included Pizarro, winner of the 2002 Champion Bumper, and Back In Front, who took the Supreme in 2003. His final Grade One success was Cash And Go in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in 2011.

O’Grady was also connected to the 1974 Gay Future controversy, a betting coup involving an Irish syndicate. His wife Maria died in 2017 at the age of 54 following a hunting accident.