Roger L. Attfield (born 28 November 1939 in Newbury, Berkshire, England) is a Canadian thoroughbred horse trainer and owner and an inductee of both the Canadian and United States horseracing Halls of Fame.
In his native England, Attfield had become an accomplished international-level equestrian competitor when he emigrated to Canada in 1970. Five years later he returned to the sport he loved and began working as a trainer of show jumping horses and eventually was offered the chance to train thoroughbred race horses. Instant success led to training opportunities for other owners including for Frank Stronach and Kinghaven Farms where he met with his greatest success.
A resident of Nobleton, Ontario, Roger Attfield won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer a record six times. Of the seven horses who have won the Canadian Triple Crown, three were trained by Attfield. A winner of twenty Canadian Triple Crown races, he holds or equals the record for most wins in each of the three races. In 2001, he set a record for most wins by a trainer in the Breeders' Stakes and in 2005 set the record for trainers by winning his fifth Prince of Wales Stakes. At the 2008 Queen's Plate, Attfield tied the record with Harry Giddings, Jr. as a trainer with eight wins. This was his first win as an owner. Overall he has trained nearly forty Champions, six of which were voted Canadian Horse of the Year.
As the trainer for Kinghaven Farms, in 1990 his stable was the leading money winner in North America. In the United States, his horses race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, the Fair Grounds Race Course, in New Orleans, Louisiana and at the Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Attfield trained horse has won a number of important U.S. Stakes races including the 1995 Wood Memorial and Gotham Stakes.
In 1999, Roger Attfield was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and in 2006, he was nominated for induction into the U.S. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
In 2012, Roger Attfield was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
In 2012, Roger Attfield was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
References
- Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ESPN – 23 April 2012
- "Roger Attfield". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
External links
Categories:- 1939 births
- Living people
- Animal sportspeople from Ontario
- Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
- United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
- Canadian horse trainers
- Canadian racehorse owners and breeders
- English male equestrians
- English emigrants to Canada
- Sportspeople from Newbury, Berkshire
- Sportspeople from King, Ontario