Pat Eddery’s daughter gives heartbreaking insight into father’s tragic battle with alcoholism

The world of sport lost a genuine legend when Pat Eddery passed away on Tuesday at the age of 63.

The tributes came from far and wide from the horse racing community and beyond for the man who rode 4,632 winners in Britain alone. Eddery's daughter Natasha has now revealed the full extent of her father's battle with alcoholism and how the 'demon drink' ended his life. In a lengthy Instagram post Natasha revealed that she hadn't seen her father in five years after he began drinking straight away after a sting in rehab.

'It's been five years since I last saw (sic), we stayed In touch and spoke on the phone, I never missed a birthday etc and not a day went by when I didn't think about him. The last time I saw him face to face was when I brought him home from rehab and he drank straight away. I turned to him and said "dad if you choose to drink over health and family, I can't be part of that life for you." Sadly his addiction was too strong and he couldn't overcome it.'

'I was so proud and still am so proud to be his daughter, he was an amazing jockey, father and husband, but in the end he was taken over by a terrible disease. I don't think of that man, the alcoholic, he wasn't my dad. My dad was kind, sweet, emotional and, while he never said much, I know he loved us all very much.'

The full, heartbreaking, statement is below.

Filled with grief this morning that my dad Pat Eddery is no longer here. It's been five years since I last saw, we stayed In touch and spoke on the phone, I never missed a birthday etc and not a day went by when I didn't think about him. The last time I saw him face to face was when I brought him home from rehab and he drank straight away. I turned to him and said "dad if you choose to drink over health and family, I can't be part of that life for you." Sadly his addiction was too strong and he couldn't overcome it. My sibling and his close friends did all we could to help him battle his illness, but we lost in the end. It has been so sad to witness his decline and my siblings and I knew that we would loose him to his demon drink. But that said, I loved him so much and I had probably the best childhood anyone could ask for. I was so proud and still am so proud to be his daughter, he was an amazing jockey, father and husband, but in the end he was taken over by a terrible disease. I don't think of that man, the alcoholic, he wasn't my dad. My dad was kind, sweet, emotional and, while he never said much, I know he loved us all very much. #pateddery #love #family #father #daughter #siblings #lose #mourning #sad #legend #superstar #myhero #hero #neverforget #horseracing #britishhorseracing #globalsupetstar #racing #horses #memories

A photo posted by Natasha Eddery'Dunsdon (@natasha.eddery) on Nov 11, 2015 at 12:00am PST