FORMER trainer Mary Reveley died suddenly on Monday morning, aged 77.

The former dual-purpose handler, who saddled over 2,000 winners in a pioneering career, died of a suspected heart attack at her family’s North Yorkshire stables.

Reveley’s son, Keith, said: “She was walking about the yard and was with Gill Boanas, who is training there now. She was around the horses, feeding them, and basically collapsed of a suspected heart attack. We’re all still in shock, but it’s just typical of her that she was around horses right up to the end.”

Based at Groundhill Farm stables in Saltburn, Cleveland, Mary Reveley took out a training licence in 1982 with just four horses but soon emerged as a powerhouse of the northern circuit.

She was the first woman in Britain to saddle 100 winners in a calendar year, having reached the significant milestone in 1991.

In the same year she landed the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket with her favourite horse, Mellottie.

In 1992, Reveley then became the only British female to claim 50 victories in a flat season.

She twice won the Cesarewitch with Old Red (1995) and Turnpole (1997), while the likes of Cab On Target, Marello, Seven Towers and Into The Red secured big-race victories over jumps.

She retired from training in 2004 and passed on the baton to her son, who announced his own retirement this January.

Reveley’s grandson, James, is the current champion jump jockey in France, and he told the Yorkshire Post newspaper: “Nan was my biggest supporter. She was a very wise woman and the most loving grandmother you could wish for. May she rest in peace.”