Racing Welfare’s singing competition the Furlong Factor uncovered some amazing talent hiding in the racing industry but it was Lara Telfer, with her stunning rendition of James Bay’s Let It Go, who topped the vote in Saturday’s final and walked away with the £1,500 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Qatar Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe, courtesy of Racing Breaks.
Lara was announced as the winner in a special live broadcast on Sky Sports Racing hosted by Luke Harvey and will also receive a beautiful Furlong Factor trophy, kindly donated by Inkerman London.
Lara was clearly surprised and delighted to have won, she said: “I actually can’t believe it, there were such good singers in the final, they were all incredible, I’m gobsmacked!! It’s been really fun and we can’t forget what it’s all about. Racing Welfare does an amazing job and it’s been a fantastic campaign to not only raise awareness for them but to raise some funds at a time they really need it and I’m glad I could be a part of it.”
The Furlong Factor provided some great ‘night in’ entertainment during the lockdown period and Racing Welfare asked anyone who enjoyed the performances to donate the equivalent of their usual favourite night out to their Covid-19 Emergency Appeal.
The #NightIn4NightOut campaign had plenty of support from some of racing’s most famous faces with the likes of AP McCoy, Francesca Cumani and Nicky Henderson all sharing their idea of a great night out and contributing to the appeal.
Tweeting his support for the competition Nicky Henderson said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of watching the contestants for the final of the Furlong Factor. [They] have been absolutely outstanding and I would be staggered if Simon Cowell doesn’t pluck some of these contestants into his stable. I can’t think of any better way of supporting Racing Welfare, racing’s front line, and I’m more than delighted to donate a dinner out for a dinner in and unfortunately for me I have rather expensive tastes! So well done Racing Welfare, a great evening and a great effort!”
The competition created an incredible buzz throughout the racing industry, with #FurlongFactor trending on Twitter during the heats. To date, the Furlong Factor videos have been viewed over 603k times on Twitter with the competition generating over 3.3 million impressions across the platform.
The Furlong Factor was a fundraising initiative which saw Racing Welfare join forces with Great British Racing (GBR), the Tote and Sky Sports Racing, with the aim of raising £50,000 towards their Emergency Appeal, which has an overall target of £500,000.
The totaliser from the Furlong Factor has already almost hit its target and currently stands at £46,500. Following the cancellation of planned fundraising events, the charity faces a huge income deficit this year and donations to the appeal are still much needed at a time when demand for Racing Welfare’s services has never been so high.
In a normal year Racing Welfare would support around 2500 people from racings workforce. To date in 2020 they already supported over 3000 individuals.
Dawn Goodfellow, Racing Welfare’s Chief Executive, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support the Furlong Factor received and I would like to say a massive thank to everyone who entered the competition and all those who voted for their favourite, the response has been truly incredible. I hope that the competition has raised awareness of our services during these difficult times.
"The demand for help from Racing Welfare has never been higher than now and we are hugely grateful to everyone who has shown their support so far and I would ask anyone who can to donate to our Covid-19 Emergency Appeal. We really do appreciate your support.”
Donate to Racing Welfare’s Covid-19 Emergency Appeal here: justgiving.com/RWEmergencyAppeal
