The Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards were held in Moonee Valey Racecourse, Australia on Friday and the big winner of the evening was Jenny Watson who scooped both the Thoroughbred Excellence Award and the Dedication to Breeding Award. Watson has been a stalwart of Armidale Stud in northern Tasmania where she has worked for much of her 40 years in the industry. During her career Watson has also achieved the distinction of breeding dual Group 1 winner Palentino (Aus) (Teofilo {Ire}). As Watson humbly accepted her award she commented, “I find it absolutely amazing that I could receive this just for doing something I love and that I'm passionate about. There are so many good people out there who should be recognised, I'm just thrilled to be one of them and to be acknowledged by an organisation such as Godolphin. I can't thank them enough.”
The Thoroughbred Excellence Award carries a prize of A$5,000 with a further A$2,000 to be distributed among Watson's workplace colleagues. Watson, along with each of the other five category winners also receives a prize of A$10,000 for the Dedication To Breeding Award with a further A$3,000 to be shared among fellow staff at their employers' workplace. Each runner-up received A$1,000. The full list of award winners is as follows:
Leadership Award:
Winner: Ian Brady, Stud Manager, Wattle Brae Stud
Runner-up: Analese Trollope, Senior Foreman, Chris Waller Racing.
Horsemanship Award:
Winner: Gerry Ryan, Stallion Manager, Coolmore Stud.
Runner-up: Scott Eeles, Breaking Foreman, Kelvinside Stud.
Dedication to Breeding Award:
Winner: Jenny Watson, Foaling Supervisor, Armidale Stud.
Runner-up: Vikki Cannon, Senior Horseperson, Gooree Park Stud.
Dedication to Racing Award:
Winner: Hayley Nichols, Foreman, Kelly Schweida Racing.
Runner-up: Mark Burling, Foreman, Marc Conners Racing.
Administration Award:
Winner: Melanie Caban, Office Manager, Vinery Stud.
Runner-up: Lyn Dressing, Administration Manager, International Racehorse Transport.
Thoroughbred Care & Welfare Award:
Winner: Nikki Cook, Shory Park Horses.
Runner-up: Lee Purchase, Stable Foreman, Darren Weir Racing.
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