Remembering Nicky Murray

[Wandering Eyes]

The British breeding and sales scene has lost one of its most vibrant and popular members with the death on Sunday night of Nicky Murray at the age of 48.

Having started out in racing in the stable of Barry Hills, Nicky then worked for Reg Bennett in Maidenhead, where she met Chris Murray, her husband and devoted partner of 30 years. The couple later moved to Newmarket where they oversaw the satellite stable of Middleham trainer Patrick Haslam, for whom Nicky rode a number of winners as an apprentice under her maiden name of Nicola Howarth.

From working in racing, the Murrays moved into the breeding and consigning business and set up Whitwell Bloodstock from Colton Stud in Norfolk in 2004, before moving to their current base of Hilborough Stud five years ago.

Among the successful horses to have been bred under the Whitwell Bloodstock banner is the G2 July S. runner-up Lewisham (GB) (Sleeping Indian {GB}), while Nicky was represented by her final winner on July 2 when her homebred So Near So Farhh (GB) (Farhh {GB}) won her third race at Chepstow.

Over many years I have witnessed first-hand Nicky’s devotion to the animals in her care and have been fortunate to call her a friend. There was perhaps no horse dearer to her than Red Admiral (GB) (Formidable), whom she twice rode to victory in the mid 1990s and he remained with her in retirement until his death at the age of 26. She treated ‘Red’ as a member of her family, as she now does my retired broodmare, who lives at Hilborough still. Nicky foaled all bar one of her offspring and cared about the progress of each of them as if they were her own horses.

A bouncy and enthusiastic presence at the sales, Nicky was hard to miss at the head of her Whitwell Bloodstock consignment, decked out in her favourite bright pink. For all small breeders, success at the sales is paramount for survival in the business, and a particular fond memory is of Nicky leading a homebred Charm Spirit foal through the ring who eventually sold for 140,000gns. This was a terrific result for her team, and one made all the more enjoyable to watch as Nicky’s smile grew wider and wider with every turn of the ring.

A tireless worker, she was notable by her absence at the December Sales last year while the extent of her illness was diagnosed. Nicky was released from hospital in February and it came as no surprise when I took a phone call from her informing me of the arrival of my latest foal. Needless to say, despite being nowhere near back to full strength and doubtless against the instructions of Chris, she had been up most of the night overseeing the foaling.

An accomplished runner, Nicky signed up for the Race For Life while undergoing cancer treatment in early April and was determined to raise money for cancer charities by completing the King’s Lynn race on July 16. A recent sudden downturn in her condition meant this was not to be, but via the wonders of video phones she was able to see a group of her friends complete the race in her honour last Tuesday.

She faced up to a grim prognosis following recent test results with typical aplomb, verbally reeling off a list of things she wanted to do in the time she had left. “Stay strong for me,” she said as we ended that phone call—telling me, not asking. Nicky conducted her life in a no-nonsense manner, her honesty and straightforwardness two of her shining assets, so it was perhaps appropriate that those were the last words I heard her speak.

It has become the norm to say that those afflicted with cancer fought bravely, and Nicky did of course, but then she lived her life bravely even before her illness took its toll. Until recent years she was still riding in the breeze-ups and she was perhaps at her happiest when preparing her youngsters for the sales. No work with young horses is done with a faint heart, and she employed all her customary gusto and strong work ethic when going about her daily chores with a ready smile.

It was a life she loved, especially because the majority of it was spent in the company of the man she was so proud to call her husband. The end came sooner than any of her loved ones wanted, but it came peacefully, with Chris, as ever, at her side.

 

 

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