There are more than a few thankless tasks in sport - and there are two in racing up there with the best.
First, there’s the handicapper, at the very mention of whom many trainers start foaming at the mouth, and then there's Clerk of the Course, responsible for the all-important ground conditions on raceday.
These past months have seen a serious case of musical clerks, with new names at the helm of several tracks, notably Andrew Morris who presides over his first Newmarket meeting next month.
And you can add Haydock Park to that list, where Kirkland Tellwright will hang up his going stick for the last time after a sentence of more than 23 years following Saturday’s meeting at the Merseyside track.
He's been one of the longest serving clerks, and has also looked after Carlisle for a number of years and assisted at Aintree. He was also instrumental in the setting up of Haydock’s jumping crown jewel, the Betfair Chase, and has also been the man responsible for the training of would-be clerks up and down the land.
He certainly hasn’t escaped the breakdown, or so it seems, in relations between clerk and weather Gods, who show everyone how to get it wrong, and some will be surprised to learn that the Kingsley Klarion, which pulls no punches on the ‘watering’ question, is frequently to be found on his desk.
One day a trainer will probably send a clerk a Christmas card, as theirs is a challenge at the best of times, trying to second guess expected rainfall, what the M6 might be like and the fact Haydock, under Tellwright, has never been short of runners is something of which he should be proud.
The new man in at Haydock needs little introduction as Daniel Cooper moves from Wincanton and Exeter. He knows the track, quirks and all - well, he began his racing life as a trainee there, under Tellwright.
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