Death of two of racing’s legends

ENGLISH racing has lost one of its legendary figures with the death of Derby-winning trainer Geoff Wragg. He was 87.

Newmarket-based Wragg won the 1983 Derby with Teenoso in his first season after taking over the licence at Abington Place from his father Harry, whom he had assisted for the previous 28 years.

Two years before his retirement in 2008 Wragg was just a short head away from capturing a second Derby with 66-1 chance Dragon Dancer.

In between there were several Group 1 successes, including in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Teenoso and Pentire – who both ran in the famous Mollers Racing colours – as well as big-race victories around the world in a career that spanned 26 years.

Sir Michael Stoute paid tribute to his former colleague on Sunday, saying: “Geoff Wragg was a good man and a very good trainer. “His record at Royal Ascot and the Chester May meeting was phenomenal. “The way he continually produced his champions like Teenoso, Pentire and Marling was exemplary.

Secretariat

Also at the weekend, the American racing community mourned the death of Helen ‘Penny’Chenery, owner of the legendary Secretariat.

According to US reports, she passed away on Saturday at her home in Colorado from complications after a stroke. She was 95.

Renowned as the 'first lady' of US racing, Chenery earned lasting fame for her role in the story of the Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973 with a series of breathtaking performances.

Trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden by Ron Turcotte, the giant chestnut known as ‘Big Red’ set a track record in the Kentucky Derby and a stakes record in the Preakness before an unforgettable 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes in world-record time that has gone down as one of the greatest performances of all-time.

According to the Daily Racing Form, Chenery’s “influence on the sport spanned decades and [her] standing inspired generations of women in racing”.

As well as becoming a well-known figure during Secretariat’s Triple Crown campaign, in which she became popular for sharing her equine superstar with the public, Chenery left her mark on the sport in a variety of roles.

Awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2006, she was the first female president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, she helped found the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and was one of the first women elected to the American Jockey Club.

More than anything else, however, Chenery was an ambassador for the sport over several decades from the 1970s onwards. – thoroughbrednews.com.au