Born: 26 October 1894, United Kingdom
Died: 30 October 1988
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Florence Watson
British animal trainer and breeder Florence Nagle bought her first Irish wolfhound in 1913, going on to own or breed 21 UK champions. She was also successful with Irish setters from the 1920s to ’60s, with 18 Field Trial champions. Pushing back against the gender discrminination in horse racing, Nagle was described as the “Mrs. Pankhurst of British horse racing,” in reference to the iconic suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst. Nagle took a gentler approach to changing the systems she found when she trained her first racehorse in 1920. At the time, women had to have men hold Jockey Club trainers licences on the woman’s behalf, whether an employee or her husband. She successfully challenged this practice and, in 1966, became one of the first two women in the UK with a licence to train racehorses – something she’s been doing for 46 years by that point.
She also sponsored the Florence Nagle Girl Apprentices’ Handicap first run in 1986 at Kempton Park to support opportunities for women jockeys.