The following appeared in today's racecard at Gowran
The Denny Cordell Lavarack and Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes has been funded by the Cordell Lavarack family and friends over the past 15 years for the purpose of perpetuating Denny Cordell Lavarack’s memory – both in racing circles and in the Carlow Kilkenny border area in which he lived between 1980 and 1995.
Lanwades Stud generously joined the sponsorship to support this prestigious race at Gowran Park in 2006 when the race was elevated to Group 3 status – a first for Gowran Park.
Denny Cordell Lavarack enjoyed a brilliant career in the music business. He produced “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and the great early records of Joe Cocker and Tom Petty. In his last years, he signed and developed the world wide acclaimed Limerick band, The Cranberries.
As a trainer and breeder of greyhounds and horses he also had great achievements. On the turf, he trained his first winner at Gowran Park. He bred and trained Baba Karam, who was just touched-off in the Group One National Stakes, and was the highest rated Irish two-year-old of his year.
Denny’s racing colours were the red, green and gold of both Co. Carlow and Jamaica, whose reggae music he helped to popularise world wide in the 1960’s.
It is the intention of his family and friends that the sponsorship of this race will create an annual event at which Denny’s life and friendship will be celebrated with the same zest that he himself brought to life.
