Ginger McCain dies

Legendary trainer Donald 'Ginger' McCain, one of Britain's most respected horse racing trainers, has died aged 80 from cancer.

McCain guided Red Rum to three Grand National triumphs, and two second-places, in a five-year period in the Seventies.

He also won the National with Amberleigh House (pictured) in 2004, 27 years on from his previous success at Aintree.

His son Donald, to whom he handed the reins upon retirement in 2006, won the four-and-a-half-mile race with Ballabriggs this year.

The news was greeted with sadness by the horse racing world with 1996 Grand National winning jockey Mick Fitzgerald summing up McCain's standing in the sport.

"It's very sad to hear the news," he told Sky Sports News. "He leaves a legacy.

"Every time you think of the Grand National, you think of Ginger. He was the National, to be honest,"

Clare Balding, horse racing presenter for the BBC, tweeted: "Ginger McCain was 3 days short of his 81st birthday. He was an old-fashioned type & said what he thought but he was a character alright.

"Very sad for Beryl, Donald & the rest of the McCain family.

"Whenever I approached Ginger with a microphone it raised the heart rate. He might swear, say something offensive or be pertinent & funny."