A long-list of 10 nominees has been announced in each category of the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards.
The 10 candidates in each category will now be interviewed by members of the judging panel before a short-list of three is decided in five of the categories. Once down to the final three each of the short-listed individuals is guaranteed a share in the £120,000 of prize money offered by Godolphin.
The judging panel, overseen by Brough Scott, includes the former trainers Ian Balding and Jack Berry and the well-respected Dinah Nicholson, whose late husband David has the Newcomer category named in his honour, together with George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Stable Staff, Judith Allen, executive director of the British Horseracing Education and Standards Trust, and Joe Grimwade, whose former roles include managing The Royal Studs and The National Stud.
The three finalists in each category will be invited to meet with the judges in London on Tuesday 25 February to decide the winner. The winner in each category will be announced during the awards ceremony at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel in London that evening, hosted by Clare Balding..
The winner of the Administration Award will be selected by the judges at the long-list stage, with the winner invited to attend the awards ceremony in London along with the other winners.
The winner of the Employee of the Year award will be decided by the judges from among the winners of the Leadership, Rider/Groom, Stud Staff and Dedication to Racing categories and will take home a total of £20,000 on the night, with the same amount matched and shared amongst their yard, as is the case with all prizes picked up by the finalists.
Robin Mounsey, Media Manager for the British Horseracing Authority, said:
“Once again the numbers and standard of entries has been exceptional, and truly fitting of the Awards’ 10th anniversary. Whittling the nominations down to the long-list of 10 has been a tremendously difficult task for those involved and I don’t envy the judges who now have to choose just three finalists from each category.
“Those who were not long-listed can take heart from the fact that the quality of the individuals long-listed is so high and there was not one application which didn’t deserve the recognition of a nomination. We would have long-listed them all if we could.”
Long-listed nominees:
Leadership Award:
John Brophy (Andy Turnell); Mark Ellwood (Lucinda Russell); Joanne Fowles (Roger Varian); Tony Gorman (Richard Hannon); Adam Kite (Ralph Beckett); Rory O’Dowd (Brian Meehan); Simon Olley (Philip Kirby); Unharali Sayyed (David Lanigan); Sarka Seviolova (Anthony Honeyball); Richard White (Philip Hobbs).
Rider/Groom Award:
Simon Archer (Sir Mark Prescott); Samantha Cobley (Ed Walker); Tony Garth (Saeed bin Suroor); Toni Hunter (Martin Smith); Dasha Ishchenko (Ralph Beckett); Jussey Jacobs (Alan Jessop); Rose Loxton (Paul Nicholls); Leanne Masterson (Andrew Balding); Tariq Mehmood (Saeed bin Suroor); Alfie Mills (Mark Johnston).
Stud Staff Award:
Jayne Bushby (Upton Viva Stud); Steven Golding (Anthony E Oppenheimer); Matt Jones (Lady Carolyn Warren); Sara Lelean (Trickledown Stud); Steve Lomas (Whitsbury Manor Stud); Rab McKellar (Cheveley Park Stud); Gerry Meehan (Newsells Park Stud); Becky Stebbing (New England Stud); Keith Warburton (Shade Oak Stud); Chantal Wootten (Fittocks Stud).
Dedication to Racing Award:
Michael Ashley (John W Hills); Mary Burns (James Tate); William Gleed (Marco Botti); Peter Hawkins (Brian Meehan); Gemma Hogg (Micky Hammond); Stuart Jackson (David Simcock); Maxine Ledger (Richard Hannon); William Reddy (Eve Johnston Houghton); Robynne Watton (Mark Johnston); Malcolm Winter (William Jarvis).
David Nicholson Newcomer Award:
Emma Dwyer (Mark Johnston); Ashton Elliott (Alan McCabe); Chloe Emsley (Anthony Honeyball); Megan Evans (Philip Hobbs); Adam Ferguson (Paul Nicholls); Ben James (William Haggas); Miles Lucus (Oak Grove Stud); Tommy O’Connor (John W Hills); Scott Sainsbury (Andrew Balding); Sophie Wojtulewicz (Jim Boyle).
Administration Staff Award:
Marbeth Blair (Brain Meehan); Bonnie Carter Brennan (Hillwood Stud); Belinda Chapman (William Jarvis); Joanna Cody-Boutcher (Philip Hobbs); Jacqui Connor (Mark Johnston); Sarah Hayde-Salter (British Racing School); Joline Saunders (Richard Phillips) Noel Scaling (Malcolm Jefferson); Victoria Smeeton (Alan McCabe); Katrina Stanhope-White (Emma Lavelle).
