Alex Scott

Alexander Archibald Scott (8 February 1960 – 30 September 1994) was a British thoroughbred racehorse trainer. In six seasons as a licence-holder, Scott trained 164 winners. His most notable horses were the future Epsom Derby winner Lammtarra and the 1991 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Sheikh Albadou. In 1994, Scott was shot and killed by a groom at Glebe Farm Stud near Newmarket; he was 34.

Family background, education and early life

Alex Scott was the third son of Sir James Scott, 2nd Baronet of Rotherfield Park, former Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, and commanding officer of the Household Cavalry's mounted regiment. His parents bred and raced horses and staged an annual horse-trials event on the family's estate. Victory in that race made Sheikh Albadou one of only two British-trained winners in the history of the Breeders' Cup and the only British winner on a dirt track.

1991 was also the year in which Scott won his first Classic race with Possessive Dancer's victory in the Irish Oaks at The Curragh. The following season Sheikh Albadou returned to win the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Haydock Sprint Cup, giving him career winnings of $1.23 million, while there was also success for Fraam in the Golden Mile at Goodwood. Scott had selected Lammtarra as a yearling from among those at Sheikh Maktoum's Gainsborough Farm, Kentucky, unusually being given a first pick ahead of fellow trainers Sir Michael Stoute and Criquette Head.

Scott had placed a £1,000 bet on Lammtarra to win the Derby with Ladbrokes at 33–1. When the colt came home in front at Epsom after the trainer's death, the bookmakers paid out to Scott's widow. Trained by Godolphin's trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, Lammtarra went on to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

Glebe Farm stud

In December 1992, Scott bought Glebe House and its stud farm at Cheveley, Newmarket.

Death

On 30 September 1994, Scott was shot in the chest and killed by a stud groom, William O'Brien, using a single barrel shotgun. O'Brien and Scott had become involved in a dispute that culminated with O'Brien telling the trainer that he could "stuff his job". O'Brien had reportedly disagreed with Scott's working methods since his takeover of the farm in 1992. The following day Scott sent O'Brien a letter asking for confirmation of his resignation. There was then a confrontation in a barn at Glebe Stud Farm in which Scott was killed. The jury in the case rejected the defence's assertion that O'Brien was guilty of manslaughter, rather than murder.

The Alex Scott Memorial Fund Assistant Trainers' Scholarship was established in 1996 to provide assistant trainers with the chance to spend a month gaining experience of working outside Britain.

Personal life

Scott married Julia Mary Mackenzie in 1986. They had two sons and one daughter.