Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper

Article by Alan Trout

Gary John Cooper made a promising start to his career over jumps by winning on his first ride, then adding two more the following season, but that was all he managed. 

He made an excellent start to 1974, landing the Northleach Opportunity Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day on Into Battle. Trained by Ken Cundell, to whom Gary was apprenticed, the six-year-old Into Battle took the lead at the final flight and ran on to beat Playful Warrior by three lengths. They were placed twice from four subsequent starts that season.  

Peter Cundell, who had newly taken over the trainer’s licence from his father, supplied Gary with his second winner when Golden Duckling had a comfortable victory in the Marchmont Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle (Division 1, Part) at Towcester on November 28, 1974, beating Belaye and 12 others by a distance. 

It took only seven days for Gary to double his score for the season, as he teamed up again with Golden Duckling to land the Three-Years-Old Hurdle (Division 1, Part 1) at Taunton, but this time it was much harder, having only a neck to spare over Gary Old on Drum Major. 

John Francome then took over in the saddle on Golden Duckling and Gary had few chances after that. He did ride Golden Duckling one more time, when finishing last of nine in the Copper Horse Handicap Hurdle at Ascot on November 26, 1975. That was his final ride.