Trainer Josh Gifford passes away

Grand National-winning trainer Josh Gifford has died from a heart attack at the age of 70.

He had recently been treated in hospital for septicaemia.

Gifford will be best remembered for training Aldaniti to win the 1981 Grand National, English jump racing's toughest test, with jockey Bob Champion, only recently recovered from cancer, in the saddle.

"He was a great jockey, a great trainer and a great man," Champion told the BBC. "He was so loyal to his jockeys."

Before starting a trainer career that yielded more than 1,500 winners Gifford, whose yard was based in Findon, southern England, was four-times champion English jump jockey, having made his debut as a 12-year-old in 1954.

Gifford's daughter Kristina is a successful three-day eventer in her own right, having won an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing and been crowned European champion in 2009 while his son, Nick, now runs the Findon yard.