Trainer John Gosden, who was named on the Queen's New Year Honours list in recognition for his services to horse racing, officially received his OBE (Order of the British Empire) from The Queen at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
Gosden, 65, has twice been crowned champion trainer and has sent out over 3,000 career winners, including eight British Classics. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he studied economics, and worked in land development in Venezuela before becoming assistant to Sir Noel Murless and Vincent O'Brien, after which he moved to assist Tommy Doyle in California. He took out his first training licence in 1979 in the United States, training over 500 winners in California, including the filly Royal Heroine in the inaugural running of the GI Breeders' Cup Mile.
He returned to England to train in 1989, originally at Stanley House Stables before moving to Manton. He is now based at Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket.
Gosden, who attended the ceremony with wife Rachel Hood and two of their four children, Sebastian and Thea, told Racing Post, “It was a beautiful day to be at the Palace with Her Majesty presenting awards to Charlotte Dujardin, Katherine Grainger, Anne Dunham and my personal hero, the celebrated baritone Bryn Terfel, as well as myself. It was a memorable occasion and I'm greatly honoured to receive an award on behalf of British horseracing.”
He added, “Make no mistake, this award would not have come to be without the support of owners and breeders in Europe, America and worldwide who have been kind enough to support me and entrust me with their horses to train. Nor would it have come to be without the wonderful people who've worked with me and for me down the years.”
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