TURF TALK: Tufnell's boost for Marlborough unit

10:20am Saturday 1st November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

FORMER Test cricketer Phil Tufnell paid a visit to Greatwood, the Marlborough-based centre for retired racehorses in the week with BBC One cameras for the popular evening programme The One Show.

The cricketer-cum-TV presenter, pictured, spent all day at Clench Common talking to members of staff and filming children with special needs helping to promote the Terry Wogan Children In Need programme later in the month.

Helen Yeadon, who co-founded Greatwood a registered charity with her husband Michael said: “The presenter was quite funny, we had a good laugh and he was popular with the children signing autographs for everyone and even the horses behaved well.”

Unfortunately the visit came at a time when funding for the charity had taken a downturn due to the slow down in the economy the co-founder, adding: “We held a celebrity cricket match that didn’t bring in the mount of money we expected and the operating cost at Greatwood with a capacity of 56 horses is in the region of £500,000 a year.

“The demand for homes for the horses has increased with some owners unable to afford to keep them, we had to turn away five applications this week as we are full.”

Mike Yeadon chairman of the trustees at Greatwood admitted that the charity will be forced to make cutbacks unless the recent fall in financial support can some how be reversed.

He added: “Our funding on the horse side is down by 40 to 50 per cent and it is a huge concern.

“Funding trusts are down to a trickle and we depend on them for most of our income.

“We are having meeting after meeting and wondering what to do, at the moment we are undecided to the extent we may have to cut back.”

“It’s not all about money,” said Helen Yeadon. “If anyone has any good hay going spare that would be handy and of course donations of any sort will be welcome the centre can be contacted on 01672 514535.”

Recently Helen Yeadon was awarded one of the Pride Of Racing Awards for her work with retired racehorses and riding for the disabled.

Greatwood is one of only three officially recognized racehorse retirement homes in the country that has saved many former racehorses from an unknown future.

n BARBURY Castle trainer Alan King was said to be pleased with the seasonal debut of Voy Por Ustedes at Aintree last Sunday and he will now head for the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day.

However he did not come away from the course empty handed with Squadron winning the £31,000 Intercasino.co.uk for four-year-olds hurdle ridden by Robert Thornton.

The local trainer was in the winner’s enclosure again in the week with another couple of useful recruits over hurdles. Smart flat perfomer Levera started odds on to win the two mile novice hurdle at Huntingdon and Bakbensher made a winning debut at Stratford.

King was reported as saying that the five-year-old Bakbensher was potentially one of the best horses he has ever had adding: “He has got to learn to relax but that will come with experience. I’m sure when he’s the finished article he will be very good.”