Edward Beckett, 5th Baron Grimthorpe

Edward John "Teddy" Beckett, 5th Baron Grimthorpe and 9th Baronet of Leeds (born 20 November 1954) is a British peer.[1][2] He was racing manager to the late Prince Khalid Abdullah who died on the 12th January 2021.

Lord Grimthorpe (centre) talking to jockeys Ian Mongan and Tom Queally at Royal Ascot in 2012. Sir Henry Cecil is to Lord Grimthorpe's right.

Family background and early life

Lord Grimthorpe is the elder son of the late Christopher Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe, and Elizabeth, Lady Grimthorpe, formerly Lady Elizabeth Lumley, daughter of Lawrence Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough, of Lumley Castle, County Durham. He became 5th Baron Grimthorpe on the death of his father in 2003.[1]

Lord Grimthorpe's father, the 4th Baron, was a keen horseman with a reputation as a shrewd gambler.[3] He was a member of the Jockey Club, a director of Thirsk Racecourse, and kept a number of horses in training.[4] His stud at Westow Hall, which he re-established in 1965, was responsible for breeding Mrs McArdy, winner of the 1,000 Guineas in 1977.[3][5][6] Grimthorpe's grandfather, the 3rd Baron, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Fortina in 1947.[3]

The present Lord Grimthorpe was a keen racegoer from an early age. In an interview with the Racing Post he remembered having two shillings with his mother on Larkspur to win the Derby in 1962.[7] As a schoolboy he saw Brigadier Gerard's only loss, to Roberto at York in 1972.[8]

Grimthorpe was educated at Harrow School.[1]

Grimthorpe served as a page at the wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent to Katharine Worsley on 8 June 1961.[9]

Racing manager

Lord Grimthorpe had a successful career as a bloodstock agent, working for more than twenty years at the British Bloodstock Agency, whom he joined as his first employment, and buying horses on behalf of, among others, the Duke of Devonshire.[10][11] In 1999 he became Prince Khalid Abdullah's racing manager, succeeding Grant Pritchard-Gordon.[7][12] He is responsible for overseeing the Prince's worldwide Juddmonte Farms racing operation, which in 2011 involved 700-800 horses across ten farms in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, and about 250 horses in training with 13 different trainers.[13]

He has been widely praised for his contribution to a lengthy period of considerable success for the Juddmonte operation.[11][14] In 2003 Prince Khalid had 78 winners in Britain and 58 in France, making him champion owner in both those countries; he also finished third in the American owners' championship that year. The prince was British flat racing's champion owner again in 2010, with 74 winners and prize money of more than £3 million; and he took the title once more in 2011, when he had 63 winners and won prize money totaling more than £3.4 million.[15][16]

Lord Grimthorpe was elected to the Jockey Club in December 2007[1][5] and in 2011 he was appointed chairman of the race committee at York Racecourse.[6][17]

Personal life

Lord Grimthorpe married Carey Elisabeth McEwen in 1992. The marriage was dissolved in 2009. They have one son, Hon. Harry Maximillian Beckett, born 28 April 1993.[1] Lord Grimthorpe married Emma Benyon (née Villiers, and the former wife of Conservative Party politician Richard Benyon) on 14 June 2013.[18] The horseracing trainer Ralph Beckett is Lord Grimthorpe's cousin.[19]

References

1. "Grimthorpe, 5th Baron", Who's Who, London: A & C Black (2012). Link to online reference (requires login). Retrieved 15 October 2012.
2. "Edward John Beckett, 5th Baron Grimthorpe", The Peerage. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
3. Mottershead, Lee. "Death of Lord Grimthorpe at age of 87", Racing Post, 11 July 2003. Link to article on The Free Library. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
4. "Lord Grimthorpe Dies". The Press. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
5. "Newly Elected Members of the Jockey Club & Appointments for 2008", The Jockey Club, 10 December 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
6. Carroll, Steve. "Wonderhorse Frankel rules even for York’s Lord", The Press, 16 December 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
7. Downe, Alastair. "Lord Grimthorpe Interview", Racing Post, 23 July 2010. Link to article on The Free Library. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
8. Hayler, Will. "Memories of Brigadier Gerard stalk Frankel before York's International", The Guardian, 21 August 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
9. "Yorkshire's own Royal wedding stirs golden memories". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
10. "Beckett the new manager to Abdullah.", Racing Post, 19 December 1998. Link to article on The Free Library. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
11. Hotspur (McGrath, J. A.). "Frankel faces his biggest test yet in the Juddmonte International at York on Wednesday", The Daily Telegraph, 19 August 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
12. Scott, Brough. "The Modest Prince", Racing Post, 13 June 2010. Link to article on The Free Library. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
13. Owen, David. "Breeding: it’s all about the pedigree", Financial Times, 3 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
14. Armytage, Marcus. "Frankel is the result of a lightning strike of genetics that may not be repeated for 100 years", The Daily Telegraph, 25 August 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
15. "Media Release: Frankel (GB) Factfile", Racenews, 29 September 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
16. "British Horseracing Fact Book 2011/12" Archived 21 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, British Horseracing Authority. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
17. Carroll, Steve. "Lord Grimthorpe selected for new chairman of the York Race Committee", The Press, 14 December 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
18. "Lord Grimthorpe and Mrs E. Benyon". Daily Telegraph. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
19. Smurthwaite, Tony. "Beckett puts his faith in an unlikely hero", Evening Standard, 25 June 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2012.