Newmarket lad Dave Goodwin receives special lifetime achievement award - but he'd have rather shared it with beloved wife

Racing honoured one of Newmarket’s most respected lads on Friday when Dave Goodwin stepped up to receive a special lifetime achievement award.

Currently a work rider for trainer Chris Dwyer, Dave, who was born in Largs in Scotland, has been a familiar face at Headquarters since 1978 when he moved to the town and joined Sir Michael Stoute. There he broke in, and rode away, a bay colt belonging to the Aga Khan named Shergar.

But in January of 1981 Dave joined Sir Henry Cecil. Five months later Shergar won the Derby and Dave feared the chance to look after a winner of the Epsom classic had surely passed him by.

But he was to reap the rewards of his loyalty to Cecil when Slip Anchor, who he looked after, won the premier Classic four years later. He lead up Commander In Chief, the winner in 1993, and then narrowly failed to land the treble when Dushyantor finished second to Shaamit in 1996.

When Dave finally left Warren Place, he joined Jeremy Noseda.

A passionate cyclist and serious road racer, he was forced to temporarily retire after he was involved in a near-fatal accident on his road bike. Lucky to survive, he spent weeks in intensive care and was helped through his recovery by his long time partner Jean Bucknell who died in 2019.

Friday’s presentation was bittersweet for Dave who would have loved nothing more than to have been able to share the moment with her. However Jean’s memory loomed large as Dave had made sure the race run to honour him bore her name.

“In the end there was only space enough for one name in the race title,” said Dave “and I’d rather me not be in it than Jean.”

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