John Dunlop

Who is John Dunlop?

John Leeper Dunlop was a successful race horse trainer based in Arundel, Sussex. He trained the winners of 74 Group One races, including 10 British Classics, with over 3000 winners in total. He was the British flat racing Champion Trainer in 1995.

He first took out a training licence in 1966. After a two-year apprenticeship with Neville Dent and Gordon Smyth he took over Castle Stables in Arundel, on the Duke of Norfolk's estate.

He played a pivotal role in the establishment of Middle Eastern iinfluences in British horseracing, training Hatta, Sheikh Mohammed's first winner as an owner at Brighton in 1977. He was also associated with Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum over a period of three decades, training horses such as Salsabil, winner of the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and Irish Derby. The main jockeys with which he was associated include Pat Eddery and Ted Durcan. The 2,000 Guineas was the only British Classic that eluded him.

Dunlop is also a trustee of the British Racing School.

In 2001, he suffered a ruptured aorta, but survived. He eventually retired at the end of the 2012 flat racing season. His sons, Ed and Harry, are also both trainers.