British trainer Robert Alner dies

Wednesday 5 February 2020, 9:17am

British racing has been rocked by the deaths of popular trainer Robert Alner on the same day as jockey James Banks.

Alner, who was paralysed after a car accident in 2007 and given two years to live, celebrated his biggest moment when Cool Dawn won the 1998 renewal Cheltenham Gold Cup.

After his accident, Alner continued to train alongside his wife Sally before retiring in 2010.

"It was Robert's extraordinary toughness of spirit after a life-threatening car accident in November 2007 that left an indelible impression on everyone who knew him," champion trainer Paul Nicholls said on Twitter.

"That he survived for more than 12 years after sustaining such terrible injuries was nothing short of miraculous. He was confined to a wheelchair, could hardly move and needed 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

"But he continued to take a lively interest in everything around him, followed racing closely, retained a warm sense of humour and was an inspiration to his friends, family and the doctors and nurses who looked after him."

Talented jumps jockey Banks, 36, had a history of mental health problems during his career which ended in 2018.

"James was an immensely popular member of the weighing room and remained so since his retirement from the saddle in February 2018," the Professional Jockeys Association said.

"He worked extremely hard and was passionate about and dedicated to his craft.

"He had an infectious personality with a sharp sense of humour, and that is the James we will all remember.

"Underneath this outgoing exterior, James had issues that he bravely tried to address. He had the support of a loving family and was aware of and had engaged with the extensive support available to current and former professional riders."

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

– PAA

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »