remarkably well and shields his team from much of the strain. For example, during the first jump season of the redevelopment programme he, somewhat euphemistically, “had a problem”. Instead of running hurdle and steeplechase races on separate tracks as normal, he was told that they would have to share the same course. This was unheard of. For those unfamiliar with the sport, most racecourses have ‘fixed’ jumps whilst the smaller ‘hurdles’ have their own track, as do the larger steeplechase fences. Therefore, even if there are hurdle and steeplechase races on the same card/day’s racing - which is often the case at Jump meetings - it is of little consequence usually, as the jockeys just use the appropriate course. As Head Groundsman, it fell to Maurice to make this temporary, but demanding, arrangement work. “Worse case scenario - it gave my staff just thirty minutes between each race to change over fences weighing easily four tonnes”. He knew that the only solution lay with portable jumps. There were already some on the market but he felt they were neither robust, nor mobile enough, to do the job he required.
In testimony to Maurice’s management and team building skills, the answer came from the groundstaff themselves who came up with the concept for a new type of portable fence. Basically, their portable fence would not only be stronger but also have
Maurice with a ‘blot on the landscape!’
unobtrusive axles and wheels to increase manoeuvrability. A local firm, Wigan Trailers, was commissioned to produce the stronger, basic steel frame, with Haydock’s own staff responsible for “second fix” of birch and take-off boards. The result? No racing lost. The best part of a million pounds saved and a quietly satisfied Head Groundsman, understandably proud of his team. I am treated to a demonstration of just how quickly the changeover can be achieved, when Maurice arranges for one of the lads to drive the tractor alongside a hurdle, move it out of the way and replace it with a larger, steeplechase one - all in a matter of three minutes - impressive. Maurice Crooks is a man of few words, a trait mistaken by some for brusqueness but, dig beneath the outer shell/topsoil, and you’ll find a sensitive man who is at
home with animals and nature and vice versa. As well as his easy interplay with horses, it is clear Maurice stirs up loyalty from elsewhere in the animal kingdom - notably in the shape of Annie and Pip, his two devoted black labradors, who follow him everywhere on his daily rounds of the estate (and who enjoy something of a celebrity status themselves amongst the Haydock Park staff).
It is this caring, environmentally aware side of his personality that makes Maurice feel the need to apologise for the current “eyesore” of a view that hangs over his territory. He likes things to be just right, and so takes such things as muddy tyre tracks and contractors’ diggers as personal blots on his landscape. However, he acknowledges that it is only temporary and that it will be “one fantastic track” once the redevelopment work has finished.
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