NAAS RACING EXPERT JOHN GALE DIES

LEINSTER  LEADER 9 SEPTEMBER 1978

Naas racing expert John Gale dies

The death occurred last week at the Co. Hospital, Naas, of a popular and well-known figure on the racing scene, Mr. John Gale of Swordlestown, Naas. He had been ill for a protracted period, and was aged 55.

John was for some years a valued employee of the Turf Club, and on leaving that post, which had brought him into contact with many prominent people in the blood stock and horse-training industries, he became editor of the “Irish Horseman,” a magazine which subsequently merged with another, “Pacemaker”.  Mr. Gale wrote knowledgeably as a freelance contributor to several racing magazines.

As an amateur rider he had some successes in the mid-forties when he was attached to Major John Powell’s English stables.  He continued riding there up to 1953 when he was appointed assistant trainer to Atty Perse at Stockbridge, retiring in 1959.

Among the mounts during his racing career was the big-hearted chaser Quita Que, a winner of the Kim Muir Memorial Chase at Cheltenham.

The late Mr. Gale was widely recognised as a man of integrity and his judgement on horses and breeding lines was always appreciated.  He worked for some time as assistant to Vincent O’Brien at Balydoyle, in the sixties.

He is survived by his wife, Joan, and sons, Martin and Dermot. The funeral took place last Tuesday to St. Mary’s Cemetery, Ballymore Eustace, following RequiemMass.