NORTH Yorkshire's racing fraternity gathered to mourn the death of a top horse trainer described as a "diamond-encrusted character with a heart of gold".

Flat racing champion jockey Kieren Fallon, and Lady Clarissa Collin, of Pockley, near Helmsley, were among the 600 people who packed the pews, and spilled out into the churchyard at St Mary's Priory Church, Old Malton, for the funeral of Norton-based trainer Jimmy FitzGerald.

In an address, racing expert and Evening Press tipster Tom O'Ryan described Mr FitzGerald, 69, as a "giant of the turf, a doyen of the horse profession, a training legend, a successful jockey, a wonderful character and a friend to so many".

He said the trainer had a tremendous talent for giving a "rollicking", and "had a command of the four-letter words in the English language that was second to none".

But he added: "His bark was worse than his bite - which seldom, if ever, came."

Mr O'Ryan said everyone had the utmost respect for him. "When the good Lord made FitzGerald they threw away the mould," he said. "He was a diamond-encrusted character with a heart of gold."

Long-standing friend David Osborne said: "I've never met a more determined man, a more shrewd man, a more cunning man and an aggressive man."

Father Paddy McMahon also addressed the mourners, and the Rev John Manchester gave the commendation.

Mr FitzGerald, or Jimmy Fitz as he was known, will always be remembered for training the 1985 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Forgive 'n' Forget. The trainer found great success both on the jumps and on the flat. Born in the village of Horse And Jockey, County Tipperary, he started his racing career as a stable lad.

In a decade in the saddle he won 223 races and rode Brasher to victory in the 1965 Scottish Grand Final. He stopped being a jump jockey, and became a trainer after fracturing his skull in a fall in 1966.

He turned Norton Grange Farm into one of the strongest jump centres in the country, was granted a training licence in 1969 and scored a victory in the same year with the second horse he trained, Archer, at Market Rasen.

During his dazzling career, Mr FitzGerald trained more than 1,200 winners.

He leaves three children, Tim and Siobhan, from his first marriage, and Kirsty, from his second marriage to Jane, who passed away before him.

Others at the funeral included North Yorkshire trainers Richard Fahey, Peter Beaumont, Tim Easterby, John Quinn and Brian Ellison. Former jockeys of Mr FitzGerald present included Mark Dwyer, Tommy Stack, Russ Garritty, Edward Hide, Ronnie O'Leary, Johnny Seagrave and Mark Lowry.

Updated: 12:28 Friday, October 15, 2004