EMOTIONAL jockey Fergus Gregory said his horse Zee Man ‘won in the memory’ of late owner Brian Vaughan, who died from coronavirus.
Gregory rode the seven-year-old to his first ever victory in a 2m 5f race at Fakenham on Monday.
The contest was Zee Man’s first outing for new trainer Olly Murphy and his first time over fences.
Murphy was left the horse on December 23 after Vaughan passed away late last year after contracting Covid-19.
The win was poignant coming so soon after his former owner’s death.
And it had echoes of tragic Zoe Davison’s two winners at Plumpton yesterday, just before she lost her battle against cancer.
Speaking after his win, an emotional Gregory – who suffered a horror fall at Ascot in November – told Sky Sports Racing: “His owner Brian Vaughan sadly passed away during the pandemic of coronavirus and it’s quite a sad story.
“He’s left Olly the horse and the Geegeez syndicate have taken him on.
“It’s a sad story but in his memory, that was great.
“Hopefully this is the start of the horse progressing. It’s been a tricky couple of years for me and it’s nice to get a winner, it’s been a while.”
It is not known how old Vaughan was when he sadly passed, or when.
The racing community was rocked on Sunday after popular trainer Davison’s death.
Her daughter Gemelle had recently confirmed her cancer had spread.
Davison died of breast cancer after living with it for four-and-a-half years.
But she was able to see two of her horses – Brown Bullet and Mr Jack – win in emotional scenes.
Racing has had a shadow cast over it lately with a number of tragic losses.
Legendary owner JP McManus withdrew all future runners after daughter-in-law Emma’s shock passing at the age of 40 just last week.
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