Lady Herries, the trainer of the first international Caulfield Cup winner Taufan's Melody, has died aged 76.

Lady Herries, renowned as a fine judge of equine talent, was married to the late England cricket star Colin Cowdrey, who died in 2000.

Her success with outsider Taufan's Melody in the 1998 Caulfield Cup came a year after she prepared Harbour Dues to run a close fourth in the Melbourne Cup won by Might And Power.

Taufan's Melody's win was surrounded by controversy after Ray Cochrane caused severe interference in the straight and was subsequently outed for two months for his actions.

Lady Herries will, however, perhaps be best remembered by the exploits of Celtic Swing, the sire of champion Australian sprinter Takeover Target.

Owned by Peter Savill, Celtic Swing was a devastating winner of the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster in 1994, slamming Annus Mirabilis by 12 lengths in what remains one of the great performances by a two-year-old.

On just his second start as a youngster he was eight lengths too good for Singspiel at Ascot.

"She was a wonderful lady and I spent many happy days with her and Colin Cowdrey," Savill said.

"He (Celtic Swing) was obviously an exceptional horse, but I'm sure he wouldn't have achieved all he had done without Lady Herries.

"He didn't have the best conformation and she nursed him along extremely well, always looking after the best interests of the horse.

"I always had total confidence in her as a trainer."

Trainer William Knight, whose stables are close by the estate where Lady Herries operated, said she had been ill for some time.

"She had been poorly for a while and had been in and out of hospital," he said.

"She was a very kind and generous lady, who welcomed me to Angmering Park when I came down to start training nine years ago.

"She was always there for a bit of advice when needed.

"She was a shrewd trainer and loved her horses and all her animals."