Clerk of the course Mark Cornford retires after 41 years of service at Plumpton

Mark Cornford enjoyed his final shift at Plumpton racecourse on Sunday with the clerk of the course retiring after an incredible 41 years of full-time service at the East Sussex racecourse.

He was born in Plumpton village and has always lived a stone's throw from the jumps track. He first worked at the track with his father in the late 1960s before joining the groundstaff team permanently in 1980.

Cornford was named clerk in 2004 and kept the role up until Sunday, and he will now be replaced by Marcus Waters. He was given a guard of honour in accolade of his work.

"I'm feeling alright about it," he said. "I'm a local man and I love the family-type atmosphere you get at Plumpton.

"This has been something I'd been planning with the directors for a couple of years as we needed a plan to replace me. We've got a great guy, he's excellent and the future's bright."

Cornford named the surprising win for Plumpton in the jumps category of the RCA groundstaff awards in 2009 as a personal highlight, while five years later the track was named overall champion with Cornford presented with the Neil Wyatt Lifetime Achievement award.

"The first award was so unexpected," he said. "I remember when it was presented to us in the paddock and how brilliant it was to see everyone's faces. That was a personal high but that wasn't something I achieved, it was something we achieved."

Fantastic four

Diligent brought up a four-timer as the first of two finishers in the 2m1f handicap chase, while the day's feature 2m4½f conditional jockey's handicap was won by Bard Of Brittany.

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