Trainer Lynn Siddall dies aged 67

Nick Robson
May 21, 2021 12:19 pm

Son Tom pays tribute to Yorkshire handler.

Trainer Lynn Siddall has died at the age of 67.

Siddall started her career in racing as a jockey before turning her hand to training under both codes, and was racing as recently as Hexham on Tuesday.

She trained in Colton, between Tadcaster and York, and son Tom was a National Hunt jockey before taking up equine dentistry.

He said: “She used to train pointers when she was riding. She actually used to train on the Knavesmire, she had a yard across from the stable yard near the fish and chip shop – you wouldn’t even know it was there.

“She rode in those very early ladies races, so she’d been involved in racing for the best part of 50 years.

“She was taken into hospital in early December when she ended up with fluid on her lungs because her heart wasn’t pumping properly – it was affecting her breathing.

“She’d been on tablets since December while they worked out what to do, but because of Covid everything had been on hold.”

Siddall’s partner Steve Hackney said: “She went to Hexham the other night and she could barely walk because she was struggling with her breathing, but we thought it was the fluid coming back.

“Wednesday morning it got worse and worse. They rushed her in, but it wasn’t a problem with her lungs, it was her heart and she’d had another heart attack. Before she went in for the operation, her heart packed in.”

Siddall highlighted one of his mum’s finest training achievements when she had an across-the-card treble in the space of 45 minutes, encompassing both the Flat and jumps.

“Maurice Camacho reckoned it must have been a record,” he said.

“We had two at Market Rasen – one was a two-mile hurdler, one a three-mile chaser – and the other was a six-furlong sprinter.

“That was one of her highlights. Horses like Innocent George, Stepfaster, Primo Figlio and Be My Habitat were some of her best. Her favourite jockey was Lester Piggott, and Richard Dunwoody and Peter Scudamore rode quite a bit for her.”