Wednesday 18th February 2009
Newmarket’s Maughan celebrated at key awards’ lunch
Newmarket-based Peter Maughan - named Employee of the Year at 2009 Stud and Stable Staff Awards.Picture: Chris Smith
THE outstanding quality of stable staff working in Newmarket was once again underlined at an annual awards’ lunch with three people from the town scooping top honours.
Yesterday Peter Maughan (David Elsworth), Andy Gibson (Stuart Williams) and Claire Knight (Jeremy Noseda) all returned winners from the prestigious London-staged function, organised by the British Horseracing Authority and sponsored by Godolphin.
In total there was a 15-strong short-list of racing’s unsung heroes and heroines for five individual categories – from which Maughan was chosen as the 2009 Employee of the Year.
The 72-year-old travelling head man from Elsworth’s Newmarket base captivated a select audience at a plush Knightsbridge hotel where chairman of the judges Brough Scott anchored proceedings.
Maughan fascinated those present as he spoke of many of the great horses whom he travelled, including Desert Orchid.
“He was a bit of a miserable old devil to start with – otherwise he was as good as gold. As he got older, he got mellower and he was lovely in the end,” recalled Maughan.
There was talk, too, of Elsie’s Grand National star Rhyme N’Reason, ‘We expected him to win the National’, In The Groove ‘The best filly we’ve ever had – you don’t very often get them like her’…and the hugely popular Persian Punch.
“He was the bravest horse I’ve had dealings with,” said Maughan with a lump in his throat, which was felt by just about all present. “When he died at Ascot that day it was desperate. He ran his heart out every race.”
Maughan deservedly gained industry recognition for the significant part he played in the exploits of those stars of the Turf, winning the Senior Staff category as well as landing the big one.
Ex star of the saddle Mick Fitzgerald was on hand to present the awards which included a cheque for £25,000 to Maughan - £12,500 for the man himself and the same amount to be shared among his colleagues at Elsworth’s Egerton House base.
There was also joy for Andy Gibson in the Special Merit category. This bravest of men has had to endure Multiple Sclerosis for the past 10 years but has never stinted in his commitment to racing, working as a yardman for Williams on the Hamilton Road. As long as he has his beloved horses to fuel him, every day is a bonus says Andy, who plays a key role in the MS Society attending fundraising events.
Claire Knight was a third Newmarket winner, emerging victorious from the Rider/Groom category. She fought back from a traumatic incident in which a horse she was riding was struck by a car before dying in her arms. Unsurprisingly, Claire suffered an adverse reaction, finding herself hospitalised with severe panic attacks.
“I missed my horses so much I knew I had to get better,” commented Knight, who Brough Scott rightly referred to as ‘A remarkable woman’.
Gibson and Knight both won £3000 and the same figure for their respective stable-mates. Fellow Newmarket stable employees Hugh Fraser (John Berry), Mick Wilson (William Haggas), Jim Hiner (Michael Jarvis) and Ian Willows (Luca Cumani) were short-listed and each collected £2000.
By Tony Rushmer
