Lady Clague passes away at the age of 89
The horseracing world has suffered a great loss as the well-off and well-respected racehorse owner and breeder, Lady Clague passed away at a mature age of 89 on Saturday following deterioration in her physical health. Lady Clague’s career highlights included esteemed wins with horses Namid, Winona and Key Change.
Lady Clague originally belonged to the Isle Of Man, from where she accompanied her late husband, Sir Douglas Clague, when he moved to Hong Kong. Sir Clague died in 1981 after holding the position of the chairman of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club for a short while.
Lady Clague had taken residence at Newberry Stud in Kilcullen in1975, where she stayed until her death. Here, she ran a prosperous private yearling and breeding farm under the Newberry Stud Farm Ltd. banner.
Lady Clague was made an honorary member of the Turf Club since 1996 and she gained further awe and admiration when her sprinter Namid won five times. The victories included three Group 3 races and the Group 1 Prix De l’Abbaye in the year 2000.
Namid’s trainer, John Oxx paid tribute to Lady Clague on Monday, saying that he and his father had spent a long time –almost forty years- working with her and that they will all miss her great enthusiasm and the love she held in her heart for her horses.
Lady Clague owned two other horses that made a name for themselves with their brilliant performances in fixtures. One of them was Winona, a legendary Classic racehorse who bagged the 1998 Irish Oaks by an amazing seven lengths, while the other was Key Change, who had four victories under his name including the Yorkshire Oaks in 1996.
Lady Clague’s interest in horses was not just limited to owning them but extended to breeding as well. The famous Snaefell grew under her care and he went on to perform and win eight races for Michael Halford. These wins included three Group 3 races of which the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in August of last year was one.
Michael Halford also paid his respects to the Lady and said that he will miss her greatly and is saddened by her departure and sends out his thoughts to her family at this time.
Pat Murtagh, the manager at Newberry since the 1970s, and manager of Ballymacoll Stud, Peter Reynolds also paid tribute to the late Lady and agreed that she was truly a beautiful person and that her presence will be missed greatly. They both send out their sympathy to her family.
Lady Clague is survived by her two children; daughter Penney and son Jonathan.
Lady Clague’s funeral service will be carried out on February 18 at Lonan Church on the Isle of Man at midday.
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