Starting life in the industry as a jockey, under the name of John Lawrence, Lord Oaksey enjoyed some success but it best known in this field for his heart-breaking defeat on Carrickbeg in the 1963 Grand National.
The great man could turn his hand to almost anything in the horse racing industry, having spells as a: jockey, journalist, author and a broadcaster. However he will be best remembered for his charity work and in particular establishing the 'Injured Jockeys Fund'.
An extremely popular individual, Lord Oaksey's good deeds were recognised in 1985 when he was awarded an OBE.
Subsequently his popularity meant that when a horse he had bred and part-owned-classy staying chaser 'Carruthers'-was first past the post in the 2011 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, the adoring public's affection came flooding back to the forefront of everybody's minds. No one at Newbury that day had a single complaint whether a man deserved a victory as much as Lord Oaksey.
Tributes haven't been hard to come by unsurprisingly as other figures in the horse racing community took to twitter to express their admiration and sadness.
Champion Jumps Jockey Tony McCoy: 'a truly great gentlemen'
Trainer David Pipe: 'So sorry to hear of the passing of Lord Oaksey who did so much for our sport'
Goodbye good sir, never forgotten.
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