Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

Cliggott

The sport of horse racing has lost one of its stalwarts with the passing of the legendary 'Hall of Fame' trainer Eileen Cliggott, Jamaica's First Lady of racing.

Mrs. Cliggott died at 11 o'clock on Monday morning at the Tony Thwaites wing of the University Hospital of the West Indies after suffering a stroke on October 9. She celebrated her 90th birthday on August 5 this year and to mark the occasion, Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) ran a race in her honour, the Eileen Cliggott 90th Birthday Trophy over 1,200 metres on Saturday, August 4.

A rare visit

Despite her failing health, Cliggott made a rare visit to Caymanas Park as guest of the promoters to present the trophy to the connections of the winning horse, Blue Marlin. That was her last public appearance.

An Englishwoman, Cliggott came to Jamaica with her husband in 1958 and started training at Caymanas Park in the early 1960s.

She went on to make an indelible mark in a male-dominated sport, paving the way for other female trainers such as Emma Chen, Bev Rhoden, Pauline Dwyer and Margaret Parchment, the only female trainer active today.

Although she had never won the trainers' championship, Cliggott distinguished herself to such an extent that for many years in the 1970s and 1980s she was the leading all-time trainer in the annals of local racing with 900 winners before she was overtaken by Allan 'Billy' Williams and subsequently Kenneth Mattis, Philip Feanny and Wayne DaCosta.

Retired

When she retired in 2001, Cliggott was fifth on the all-time list with a total of 976 winners and $11.6 million in stakes. She was also a noted owner and breeder.As trainer she has been associated with some truly outstanding horses, including the 1965 Derby winner RUMPELSTILTSKIN, who broke the track record; the 1969 'Horse of the Year' PERSIAN COIN, CHARLOTTE RUSSE, winner of the 1970 Governor's Cup and St. Leger, as well as the 'A1' campaigners AMBASSADOR, CONDUCTOR and of course the outstanding native-bred filly ETTU, who broke the straight five-track record under the crushing impost of 140 pounds on her farewell performance in 1985.

For her contribution to racing, Cliggott was inducted into the 'Hall of Fame' of Thoroughbred Racing in 1986, She was also the recipient of the coveted None Such award in January 1991, and, in November 2004 was honoured by the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Association (JRTA) at their annual raceday. A race, the Eileen Cliggott Trophy for top-class horses, is also run in her honour on an annual basis.

Reacting to her death, Trainers' Association president Vin Edwards said Cliggott was "a true professional who will long be remembered for her outstanding and pioneering contribution to horse racing in this country not only as trainer but in other areas of the sport as well".

On behalf of the JRTA, Edwards extended condolences to her family, other relatives and friends.