Turf club welcomes new course manager

RACING: The 2017-18 Clifford Park racing season kicks off tomorrow with a new race course manager on deck for his first Toowoomba Turf Club meeting.

David Morrison has been appointed by the club to fill the role vacated by Chris Nation who departed for Perth at the end of April.

The track management role was filled in the interim by acting course manager Paul Brennan who will remain with the club as second in charge to Morrison.

Morrison started work at Clifford Park last week.

Club chairman Kent Woodford said finding a full-time replacement for Nation, who helped resurrect the Clifford Park course proper from a low point to one of the most respected in the state, had been a lengthy process.

“It’s one of the more difficult positions to fill,” Woodford said.

“As you can appreciate it’s a specialised field and people with the sort of knowledge and expertise you are looking for are in high demand.

“David doesn’t come with a strong background in race tracks but is experienced in golf course management and within the fertiliser industry.

“We were actually referred to him by Chris Nation which we take as a strong recommendation.

“David was keen to relocate from the Gold Coast to Toowoomba and we welcome him.

“While he mightn’t have broader race track experience we’re confident that in Paul Brennan and our other staff we have sufficient racing knowledge on hand to cover all aspects.

“Paul has done a tremendous job since Chris moved on and he’ll remain second in charge to David which we really value.”