Patrick Haslam Passes Away

Former trainer Patrick Haslam has passed away at the age of 69. He had been fighting serious illness for a number of years. Haslam, who was succeeded in 2010 by his son Ben, enjoyed his finest hour as a trainer when Kinnaird (Ire) (Dr Devious {Ire}), a filly he bought for £8,000 at the breeze up sales won the G1 Prix de l'Opera under Kevin Darley at Longchamp in 2005. Haslam was based in Middleham and trained over 1,000 flat and jumps winners in a career that began in 1972 and he also held the distinction of training a winner at every racecourse in Britain. “He was fighting an illness for a long time and passed away yesterday,” Ben Haslam said on Sunday. Haslam is survived by his wife Ann and son Ben who added, “He was a very shrewd trainer. He had a lot of bad horses, but it was all about winning with what you had, and he did that so successfully. He also had many good ones, though, and Kinnaird was a great horse. He bought her very cheaply at the breeze-ups and she ended up winning the May Hill and then the Prix de l'Opera – she would have the biggest in terms of achievements. He was a top trainer, a great man and a great father.” Former training neighbour and colleague Karl Burke also paid tribute to Haslam when interviewed on Racing UK and commented, “It's very sad news and we can only be thinking of Anne and Ben and their immediate family. I got on really well with Pat – he'd let you know if he wasn't getting on with you. He was great company and if you got him talking on any topic that he had strong thoughts on, it could be very amusing. He was a great guy and always someone you could turn to. He'll be a huge loss.”