2021 Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards winners Q&A: Richard Phillips

Nominations for the 2022 Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards close on November 9 and after being conducted virtually last year, the 18th annual ceremony will be presented in person in London on February 21.

There are six categories and we spoke to one of this year's winners, trainer Richard Phillips, about what it meant to win the 2021 Community Award.

What does being nominated do for the morale of members of staff in your yard?

I think the great thing about the awards is that people who get nominated are very proud to be, and for those who get to the final three in the various categories or even win, it’s a highlight of their life and career.

To work in racing, you need to have a lot of commitment, personality and passion and that’s something we all want to celebrate. Every year we see great stories about great people and that’s why it works, because every winner is a deserving one.

Did the success your yard had in the 2021 Awards have a galvanising effect on your staff?

Absolutely. It gives people confidence because they realise that the competition is so stiff, and so to get that far and be so respected is such a rewarding thing. As a team, it did us an enormous amount of good.

Personally, how did you feel to win the Community Award?

Embarrassed, as you should be because you’re up against amazing people doing amazing things. I was very lucky to have parents who always thought of others before themselves and a bit of that rubbed off on me. I feel as though if I’m not helping people, I’m not doing the job my parents brought me up to do, so to get an award like the Community Award was incredibly humbling. It was also satisfying because you try to do these things to try and make things a bit better and people do recognise that you’re doing your best.

What would you say to anybody who may be considering nominating somebody for 2022?

I would say do it. We were very lucky last time and we’ve got ideas ready for this year’s nominations.

We’ve got members of staff we genuinely believe would be worthy winners and we will nominate them because it’s a great plus to someone’s career. To be nominated for excellence in your work is a
significant moment and even if you don’t make the final lists, it is no mean feat to be put forward by your peers, who respect you that much.

Yes, there’s always a slight sense of embarrassment in some people to be nominated, but take it. And whoever may read this, nominate someone because we have this incredible workforce.

The great thing about these awards is the fact that everyone unites around these people. We just had National Racehorse Week to celebrate the horses, but without the people we couldn’t have the horses and that is something to celebrate. By nominating someone you have celebrated this special workforce.

How are the coming months looking for Richard Phillips Racing?

I like to say that if you’re putting the horses first, you’ve got the best chance of them finishing first. That’s what we’re doing and it’s very rewarding.

We’re so lucky to be in an industry whereby you can get so much back for what you put into it, and so we’ve had a great year. To see all the effort being rewarded is a great thing and getting horses over the line first is why we do it. Fortunately, we seem to have some promising young horses this year, so let’s hope they continue to run well.

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