Trainer Jimmy Moffatt cools 'The Steward' in the winners' enclosure at Cartmel Racecourse by Milton Haworth
It was a blazing hot August day, I had been commissioned to do a photo-essay on Britain’s favourite small racing venue Cartmel Racecourse. My clients were the the course owners Holker Estate Group who gave me carte blanche to produce whatever images I liked. They were to be used for brochures and posters for the following year, some advertising and social media. I thought I would also generate some welcome free publicity for the owners of the course by giving the local paper a set of images.
I had previously spent some time at local trainer Jimmy Moffatt’s place a couple of miles from the course, I had got to know the trainer and some of the grooms and stable girls, one of whom, Charlotte Jones was to ride in a couple of the races. Charlotte had already won a couple of races at Cartmel and so I was really hoping she would come up trumps again. Alas, it was not to be; but the local stable had a winner and a third place.
During this particular race I had covered the hurdles on the back straight and had decided to get down to the parade ring for the presentation of prizes and, (usually) some of Cartmel’s most famous product, 'Sticky Toffee Pudding'. Just as I arrived at the winners' enclosure I spotted Jimmy Moffatt with a bucket of water, I quickly stepped back a couple of paces and shot this image, I thought that would make a great ‘weather” picture as it was one of the year's hottest days.
I sent the images out that afternoon and was delighted to get a couple of hits in national papers and the local paper carried an 8-picture double page spread the following Monday. Of course my clients were delighted with the publicity and, as a result, I have done a great deal of work for them since.
The picture was shot at 1/250 at f8 with a Fuji Xt-2 with a 16-55mm f2.8 lens.
Milton Haworth began his career as a tea-boy/messenger on his hometown paper The Lancashire Evening Telegraph in Blackburn in 1963. He left there to join the agency EastMid in Doncaster, and from there moved to The Kent News Agency Southern News based in Maidstone in 1967. Mercury Press in Liverpool was his next stop before joining Pick of York. He was there in 1974 when invited to join the staff of The Daily Express and went to cover Ireland for them, based in Belfast. Six years on he moved back to England and worked from the Manchester office of the Express before leaving to set up Fleet Street West in California. From there he went to New York where he freelanced for two years before returning to the UK where he has since freelanced in The Lake District.
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