'Racing was his raison d'etre' - owner Noel Martin dies at 60

Noel Martin, the owner whose Jacqueline Quest was demoted from first place in the 1,000 Guineas in 2010, has been remembered as an "amazing man" with an unmatched enthusiasm for racing following his death at the age of 60.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Birmingham, Martin was left paralysed in 1996 when the victim of a racist attack in Germany. Two neo-Nazis threw a lump of concrete through the windscreen of his car, forcing him off the road and into a tree. The attack left Martin without the use of all four limbs.

He was a firm fan of the turf and saw Baddam complete a memorable royal meeting double in 2006 when he landed the Ascot Stakes and Queen Alexandra.

The Sir Henry Cecil-trained Jacqueline Quest – named after Martin's wife who died of cancer in 2000 – nearly topped that in the Newmarket Classic despite her odds of 66-1.

A moving, not-to-be-missed interview with Noel Martin, owner of Jacqueline Quest

She flashed by the post first under Tom Queally, but was deemed to have interfered with French raider Special Duty, who was awarded the Group 1 by stewards.

"To have the race taken away from her was a big blow," he later reflected. "When I bought her I had a dream to win two or three Group 1s, but I just have to be humble about it, move on and hope."

Martin, who passed away in a Birmingham hospital on Tuesday, needed 24-hour care, but maintained an interest in the sport right up until his death and the useful Puds – his wife's nickname for him – is due to carry his colours in a handicap at Sandown on Thursday.

Noel Martin (centre): has passed away at the age of 60Credit: Edward Whitaker

His long-time friend and racing adviser Kevin McAuliffe said on Wednesday: "He was in hospital, I think with pancreatitis, and they couldn't fix it this time.

"I'd known him about 15 years after he wanted to breed from some fillies, whom I boarded for him, and then I sort of became his racing adviser, looking after his bloodstock interests.

"He's been a great friend and racing was his raison d'etre. He lived for it and I've never met anyone with his afflictions with so much enthusiasm for the sport. He loved it and never felt an outsider in the industry. He was a pleasure of a man and a wonderful human being.

"He had a charity and looked after his carers so well. He was an amazing man."

McAuliffe, who used to train but now focuses on the bloodstock section of the industry, confirmed the owner's string – comprising Puds, her Richard Hughes-trained stablemate Waddat and unraced three-year-old filly Rome Imperial who is with Ralph Beckett – would be dispersed at some stage with funds transferred to the charity Martin founded to educate young people about racism.

"People think they have bad days, but when I think I'm having one I think about Noel and I realise that I've never had a bad day in my life," McAuliffe added.

"After that accident in Germany, he was brought back to England, and then Jacqueline was diagnosed with cancer and died not long after; you couldn't make it up."

Now training in Lambourn, Hughes also rode for Martin during his memorable career in the saddle.

He said: "He was a great man, who loved his racing. He was a gent and a pleasure to deal with – win, lose or draw. Anyone can be a good winner, but he also knew how to take losing as he was such a good man."

Of Puds entering the winner's enclosure at Sandown, Hughes added: "We've tried her in a few hotter races of late and she needs to be locked up with nowhere to go, and then hopefully things unlock and there's a gap for her."

Funeral arrangements have yet to be finalised.

Read more:

Luckless on the track but Jacqueline Quest finding redemption at stud

2010 1,000 Guineas result and analysis

Baddam remembered: the old boy in retirement