Area News
Brenda Selby
The Middleham racing community was deeply shocked and saddened in January when one of the longest serving stable staff in the town collapsed and died when taking one of her horses to Kempton Park. Brenda Selby, aged 48, had gone to Kempton with her partner Brian ‘Smiler’ Mansell with one of John Weymes’ horses for racing the following day. Brenda had driven the horsebox and they had just arrived at the course, when not feeling well, she collapsed and was taken to St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey where she sadly died the following morning.
Brenda came to Middleham from her home village of Cowling near Keighley, in 1977 to work for Tommy Fairhurst at Glasgow House. She stayed with him and son Chris until about three years ago when she decided to take a short spell trying other things. The long wet winters had begun to take their toll but the lure of the muck sack and horses didn’t leave her and within months was back in stables joining Smiler at John Weymes’s Ashgill Stables.
During her time at Glasgow House she had many memorable moments none more so than when she took Barry’s Gamble into the winners enclosure after winning the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot in 1988. Another notable Ascot winner for her was when Kings Welcome won at the first ‘Shergar’ meeting. Amongst her favourites in the recent past was Abbajabba who was placed in the Ayr Gold Cup and won the valuable Coral Sprint at York for Chris Fairhurst. All told she gave loyal service to the Fairhurst family for twenty seven years - quite a record when one sees the regular movement of staff around stables.
She and ‘Smiler’ enjoyed a day at Ripon races last year when they were both recipients of a race title under the ‘Lifetime in Racing’ series of races - an acknowledgment truly deserved to the pair of them who between them have given over seventy five years to the racing industry
Her smiley disposition was well known to everyone in the town and that statement was endorsed by the Church being packed to capacity for her funeral service where, such was her popularity, it was a case of standing room only. Many people apart from stable staff, owners, trainers and jockeys had travelled many a mile to pay their respects to a person who will be missed not only by her parents, her sister Chris and Smiler, but throughout the Northern / Middleham racing fraternity.
Every Little Helps
A big thank you to local stable staff in The Black Swan Hotel, Middleham who helped to raise funds by filling the gallon whisky bottle. The total being £313.81 and the landlord Tony Verbkeon made the amount to £320 which has been donated to Racing Welfare.
Raye Wilkinson (Feb 2008) |
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