Born on November 7, 1886, Owen Griffiths Anthony, son of a Welsh farmer, rode 110 winners. He finished runner-up on Irish Mail in the 1913 Grand National and, in 1914, pulled up on rank outsider Great Cross. These were his only two rides in the National.
Owen made his name as a trainer, sending out the winners of three Cheltenham Gold Cups, the Champion Hurdle and Music Hall, who won the 1922 Grand National.
After the Open Steeplechase at Newbury on Wednesday, November 30, 1921, Owen was asked to explain why Music Hall had only carried 11 st. in the race. Owen was fined £25 for gross negligence.
He trained Golden Miller for Dorothy Paget, winning the 1936 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Owen was a no-nonsense, straight-speaking individual. When he took over from Basil Briscoe as the trainer of Golden Miller, he told the tyrannical Paget not to phone him in the middle of the night (as was her custom with her trainers) as 'he liked to be in bed by ten'.
In 1940, Owen brought off the Cheltenham double with Roman Hackle taking the Gold Cup and Solford the Champion Hurdle.
From Carmarthenshire, Owen died suddenly at Letcombe from pneumonia (caught at Salisbury races) on September 11, 1941.
W.H.Payne the Epsom trainer, took over most of Miss Paget's horses.
Owen's biggest wins as a trainer:
1922 Grand National Music Hall
1936 Cheltenham Gold Cup: Golden Miller
1940 Champion Hurdle: Solford
1940 Cheltenham Gold Cup: Roman Hackle
