Post writer and racing journalist of the year Paul Haigh dies aged 76

Paul Haigh, the long-standing Racing Post writer and former racing journalist of the year, has died aged 76.

Haigh was one of the high-profile signings made by the first Racing Post editor, the late Graham Rock, and wrote for the newspaper from its launch in April 1986 until 2009.

Prior to that, he had made his name working for the monthly Pacemaker magazine as someone who, by racing standards, was a left-wing, anti-establishment writer.

Haigh won specialist columnist of the year for a trade publication in the Magazine Publishing Awards in 1984, when the Publisher magazine said: "Haigh's reporting, whether on the mysteries of Shergar's disappearance or on impressions of a day out at Deauville, was always interesting even to the layman. The judges enjoyed the way his writing informed and entertained at the same time."

Upon joining the Post, Haigh wrote a column two or three times a week until 1993, the year he was named racing journalist of the year at the HWPA Derby Awards. Having decided by that point to become a freelance journalist, Haigh continued to contribute to the Post until his resignation in 2009.

He also wrote many books, including The Racehorse Trainer, which was published in 1990 and included 21 detailed chapters profiling some of the greatest international trainers, ranging from Henry Cecil to Bart Cummings.

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Michael Harris, his editor at Pacemaker, and later at the Post, remembers Haigh as a "wonderful raconteur" who wrote with great humour but was never scared to voice his opinion.

"His writing was as good as anything I've ever read on the subject of horseracing," said Harris. "Not necessarily from the point of view of his opinions but certainly from his wonderful style of writing and the humour it conveyed.

"He consistently showed all the attributes of a great columnist in that he was controversial, irreverent and often very funny. He was a wonderful raconteur but along with that he was also obstinate and difficult to control.

"He would say what he thought and to hell with the consequences. His frequent obsessions with certain subjects and people were almost always entertaining."

John McCririck: regularly featured in Paul Haigh's columnsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Those obsessions included the abolition of off-course bookmakers to create a Tote monopoly, and John McCririck, who was another to regularly feature in Haigh's words.

Harris said: "When I thought he'd gone too far I would often argue the point that racing was a small parish and his opinions had to be seen in the context of our industry and readership, but that rarely made a difference.

"The genius of Paul Haigh was in his writing ability and journalistic skills. He wrote with an Orwellian clarity to the point where even his great nemesis, the late John McCririck, once said that Haigh was always a good writer and sometimes a great writer.

"He was far from being a saint and was an inveterate punter, not just on horses but on a range of sports, but he did possess a sensitive, compassionate side.

"We saw this when he produced some of his best pieces while on a charity trip to Africa with Barney Curley, having been moved by the poverty that he saw around him, and it was always evident with his love for his two daughters Victoria and Catherine, which only increased as he got older."

Former trainer Curley recalled that very trip to Zambia as he paid his own tribute to Haigh. He said: "Paul was a brilliant journalist. Like us all, he had a few flaws, but at the back of it all he was a very good person.

“He came to Zambia with us and really got stuck into it – it was a horrible experience for him because AIDS was rampant at the time and we saw some terrible problems. Paul was a tough cookie, but I remember him emerging from a house where someone was dying of AIDS with tears in his eyes.

"Afterwards he wrote some superb articles about the experience, and Racing Post readers sent in money to help the cause after reading his reports.”

Barney Curley: 'Paul was a brilliant journalist. Like us all, he had a few flaws, but at the back of it all he was a very good person'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Former Racing Post colleague Alastair Down described Haigh as a "great writer" who wasted little time getting to the heart of the debate.

Down said: "Paul at his best was a great writer. He had quite a degree of kindness and concern for his fellow man, woman and punter.

"He had a hard edge to him and was quite tough. He could be very tough in print but that never eradicated his essential compassion. He was tremendous company and an evening out with Paul was never dull or short. He had a great sense of humour."

He added: "What separated him from other racing writers of my time was that he had this scalpel-like way of cutting to the heart of the matter and being tough in his arguments. He didn't spare the rod and was on the side of the ordinary person in racing, which I admired.

"I wish I'd known him better to be honest, but at his peak he was hugely influential and to read a Haigh column was to be involved straight away in what he was talking about. He didn't waste words or over-embellish like some of us do. I admired him and am sad to hear of his passing."

Alan Byrne, chief executive and editor-in-chief of the Racing Post, said: "Paul was an immense talent, a real prose stylist. We were lucky to have his beautifully crafted columns adorning the paper for so many years.

"He upset plenty of people along the way, but sometimes that is what columnists do. When he left us, you could say that he slammed the door behind him on the way out. But that should not detract from the amazing contribution he made to the Racing Post over a long period. We extend our sympathy to his family and friends following Paul’s sad passing."