Reporter of the Year

T H E N O M I N A T I O N S John Oaksey Trophy REPORTER

of the Year

“Minimum prize money rise affects just small number of races shows the ability and willingness to dig deeper into a widely-covered story, using data and analysis to reveal what the figures will mean”

JONATHAN HARDING (Racing Post)

“Josh Moore interview captures perfectly the emotions of Moore and his partner Phoebe Cruse in a sensitive but insightful interview, both fascinating and engaging”

LEE MOTTERSHEAD (Racing Post)

“Gosden-Dettori split proves that top-class reporting is delivered on a variety of different platforms in the 21st Century”

NICK LUCK (Nick Luck podcast)

“Banned substances seized after farm raid set the agenda for those who follow and cover racing, the exclusive report revealing a significant development following months of speculation“

DARAGH Ó CONCHÚIR (Freelance)

THE NOMINATIONS

JONATHAN HARDING

I’veworkedattheRacingPostforoverfouryearsnow andI’vebeenluckyenoughtodosomeprettycoolwriting andreportingjobswhilstvisitingvariouscountries,including whengoingtothePoland-Ukraineborderthisyear,andnotwo daysarethesame.

One of the things we like to do at the Racing Post is look at the BHA data, and industry statistics, and dig into them a bit more. This piece was regarding the news that the BHA were increasing minimum race values, so my aim was to see what impact this, as a number, would have on trainers and racecourses.

Having won the Emerging Talent Award in 2019, it is always nice to feel you are taking that next step, and it is amazing to be nominated alongside Lee Mottershead, my mentor at the Racing Post, as well as Nick Luck, who has always been a big supporter of mine, and Darragh Ó Conchúir, who produced a huge scoop this year, and is a journalist I admire a lot.

One of the best things about reporting on racing is the accessibility of the sport and the willingness for people to talk to you. This year, more than any, I’ve really had to get into industry subjects and have enjoyed the challenge of tackling bigger stories, but that is only really possible when people are willing to pick up the phone and talk to you.

NICK LUCK

Iactuallyhadnoideathatreportingonapodcastwas eligibleforthiscategoryuntilLydiaHisloptoldme,so I’mverygratefultoherforgivingmeanudgeandencouraging metoenter!

That kind of epitomises the help that I have had with putting the podcast together and this is really a nomination for everyone who has been involved with it since its launch.

The entry I sent in is one of the scenarios where you’ve got something brewing in racing – whether it’s on or off the track – and you just want to bring people up to date as quickly, and accurately, as you possibly can, but you’ve got limited time to get the podcast published.

Fortunately, in this instance, everybody knew that something was amiss with the John Gosden and Frankie Dettori relationship in the middle of the summer, and it was an example of where you can use your contacts in an honest but, hopefully, sensitive way in order to make people better informed.

It was a story where the podcast was able to work well and clear up the speculation, rather than fuel it inaccurately.

A lot of teamwork has gone into the podcast and a lot of the people who have helped me along the way keep an endeavour, like this particular example, ticking away every day of the week.

LEE MOTTERSHEAD

OneofthepartsofmyjobIenjoythemostisstorytelling, andIparticularlyenjoytellingbighuman-intereststories aboutpeople’slives,soIwasverykeentobeabletotellJosh Moore’sstory.

Having read about it when it was all playing out, it was obviously a huge thing that he’d gone through with his family, and I was keen to tell his story, assuming they wanted to tell it, to a wider audience.

I was extremely grateful to Josh, his partner Phoebe, and also his mother, Jayne who were all prepared to talk to me, and I had a long stint in the garden with them where they told me everything that had happened.

It was mainly Phoebe who I spoke to in the end because Josh had been out of it for a lot of the story, and it is always a real privilege when someone respects you enough to let you tell this type of story because this sort of thing is very personal to people.

Josh, Phoebe and Jayne were all very happy with what I wrote, and with the feedback they received.

With this sort of story, you are always hoping that it might help others in similar situations, too, and it was very rewarding to be able to tell it.

DARAGH Ó CONCHÚIR

ThispiecesortoffellinmylapandIwasabitfortunate asacontactgotintouchwithme,butIhadbeen keepinghalfaneyeonthestorybecauseitwasinitiallydiscussed firstbyJimBolgerduringaninterviewIdidwithhim,soIguess thatiswhyitwasassociatedwithme.

It was a big advancement on whispers and rumours, and while stories like this can be viewed negatively in the industry, this wasn’t as it was factual, and it was picked up in a lot of places after I broke the news which, for a freelancer, is huge.

It was an easy decision for me to enter with this piece as I certainly haven’t had a story as explosive as this before!

As a freelancer, I rely on support from a variety of publications and would like to thank them all, but I would like to say a special thanks to Mark Costello, of The Irish Field, who has helped me become established in a number of ways, including as a bona fide racing writer.

A lot of credit goes to my family, too, as my late mother and father both got me into racing from an early age, and with my mother being a teacher, she was a huge help in coaching me. I must also thank my wife, Mary, who is an equine nurse, for her support and practical horse knowledge!