CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP-winning owner Alan Potts has passed away at the age of 80.
His wife Ann, died in August after a long illness.
Potts was regarded as one of the leading owners in Ireland and Britain, and his horse Sizing John – trained by Jessica Harrington – won the Gold Cup this March.
Harrington also trained Potts’ horse Supasundae, who won the Coral Cup at the latest Cheltenham Festival.
Alan and Ann Potts enjoyed a successful 2016-17 campaign, as Fox Norton, Sizing Codelco and Pingshou were all scorers at the Grand National meeting at Aintree in April.
“It’s a big shock,” Harrington told Press Association Sport yesterday. “It wasn’t something we were expecting. I found out through an email from his company this morning.
“He was a certain age but he’d just been away on holiday to Mauritius and Africa and come back. I’d talked to him a couple of times and he seemed to be in great form.
“For him to die so soon after his wife – it’s sad.
“I’ve only trained for him for just over a year but we’ve been incredibly lucky together. It was a fantastic year.”
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