A race to remember the wonderful Chris Wills

At Newton Abbot Racecourse on Monday, September 9, the family, close friends and former colleagues of the late Chris Wills gathered to remember him in a memorial race in his name, the Christopher Wills Mares Handicap Hurdle. 

The winner of the race, Ryders Rock, was owned by Colin Tizzard, trained by his son Joe and ridden by his grandson Freddie Gingel, all of whom had encountered the tragedy of losing a daughter, sister and mother Kim to cancer at a similar age to Chris.

Chris was a regular attendee at Newton Abbot and had part-owned a horse in the past and before he became seriously ill was looking to get back into ownership. The 20 who came in Chris's memory had a special day with the racecourse putting on fantastic hospitality and left with the intention of this day being an annual event in the calendar.