Amanda Perrett© Photo Healy Racing
Emotions were high at Windsor on Monday as Amanda Perrett saddled her first runners since her groom Ken Dooley was announced as the man who had tragically died at Kempton on Saturday night.
The West Sussex handler saddled two horses in a mile-and-a-quarter handicap on the card, with Intermodal, owned by Khalid Abdullah, the responsibility of Dooley at Coombelands Stables.
Intermodal finished 11th of the 12 runners - one place ahead of stablemate Zamalight.
Speaking from Windsor, Perrett told At The Races: "Fittingly, he (Dooley) has looked after Intermodal for the last couple of years for Prince Khalid.
"He was a tremendous asset to us. He knew his horses inside out."
Dooley, who was in his 50s, suffered fatal injuries following an incident in the stable yard prior to race seven at the Sunbury-on-Thames venue.
Perrett described Dooley as "one of the world's enthusiastic guys".
She said : "It's very difficult for his family and all of his friends back at Coombelands.
"He's been very much part of our lives for the last seven years.
"He lived at Coombelands for 11 months of the year. He was hugely experienced in every walk of life of the racing industry - from riding, training and jockey coaching.
"Racing was Ken's life. He was just one of those wonderful, 4.30-in-the-morning guys.
"He never, ever had anything other than a great big grin on his face. He was just one of the world's enthusiastic guys and we're very sorry we've lost him."
