Ex-jockey's gardening skills set to bring the colour to Newmarket's big weekend
Many visitors will be flocking to the Hamilton Road next month when the annual Sir Henry Cecil Newmarket Open Weekend takes place on September 17-18, giving the public access to the town's biggest equine stars.
Yet they will first encounter not a stable yard but the award-winning garden of a former jockey, Fred Messer, at number 32.
Messer, who rode 24 winners on the Flat after starting in 1966, spent much of his life in racing and even had a race named in his honour at Wolverhampton in 2003. His gardening skills have been key in helping his mental health since he left the sport.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inComment
Last updated
Copy- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions
- 'It's chipping away at the profile and the standing of racing in the UK and somebody ought to at least give the impression they care'
- Comment: It is all change at the Jockey Club and its next chief executive will have to hit the ground running
- Unsavoury shunning of Callum Shepherd makes no sense whatsoever, he deserved his shot at Derby glory
- The whole shape of the Irish Flat season is being defined by one man only - and even his main targets lie elsewhere
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions
- 'It's chipping away at the profile and the standing of racing in the UK and somebody ought to at least give the impression they care'
- Comment: It is all change at the Jockey Club and its next chief executive will have to hit the ground running
- Unsavoury shunning of Callum Shepherd makes no sense whatsoever, he deserved his shot at Derby glory
- The whole shape of the Irish Flat season is being defined by one man only - and even his main targets lie elsewhere