Brown Bullet and Mr Jack storm to most poignant of victories for Zoe Davison and family

East Grinstead-based trainer died on Sunday shortly after the double following a long illness

Brown Bullet ridden by James Best clear the last to win The Sky Sports Racing On Sky 415 Novices' Hurdle at Plumpton Racecourse
James Best rides Brown Bullet to victory at Plumpton on Sunday Credit: Alan Crowhurst/PA

It is unlikely there will be many more poignant winners in the whole of 2021 than those victories of Brown Bullet and Mr Jack at Plumpton on Sunday.

The horses were both trained by East Grinstead-based Zoe Davison, 60, one of the mainstays of jump racing in Sussex, who died an hour and a half after the double following a hard-fought battle against cancer which she had already fought off once but returned 4½ years ago.

Her daughter, Gemma Johnson, a former jockey who has been helping run the yard with her step-father Andy Irivine, who was at Davison’s bedside, described Brown Bullet’s win as very emotional.

“It’s nice to a get a winner before she leaves us,” she said. “She’ll be sorely missed. This means everything. It’s a family business. We’ve put everything in and she’s the glue that holds it together. We want to make her proud.”

Simon Clare, a part-owner in Brown Bullet, said: “Someone must be looking down on Plumpton today particularly as he’s an Irish point-to-point winner who might be a proper horse when, for most of Zoe’s career, she’s been dealing with other people’s £500 cast-offs from Ascot Sales.

“Dan Shaw, one of the other partners in Brown Bullet has three other horses and has never had a winner – it’s mad how fateful it seems. She was still clipping and riding out six weeks ago against doctors’ orders but she just said: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

“I saw her three days ago and was amazed by her positivity. She was talking about what the horses would do next season and I was thinking, ‘Is this relevant?’

“She’s went her whole life under the radar but she’s been one of the top trainers at Plumpton and Lingfield. Racing in Sussex is a close-knit community and she’s been a big part of racing in that area for a long time.”

James Best, who was riding his first winner for the stable celebrated with a punch of the air crossing the line on Brown Bullet.

“What a tough lady she’s been over the past 4½ years and you could see what the winner meant for the whole team,” he said. “It means a lot and I’d like to thank Zoe for all her support she’s given me over the last couple of years. They do a tremendous job with everything they have and we’re thinking of the whole family.”

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