This year's Newmarket Town Plate to be staged in memory of Julie Cecil

This year’s Newmarket Town Plate will be staged in memory of the late Julie Cecil, who won the annual marathon on Adam’s Walk in 1959.

The 352nd running of the contest will be staged after the final race of the 2022 season on the July course on August 27.

There is sure to be a big turnout of family and friends of ‘madam’, as she was affectionately known, and this year's winning rider will receive a personal memento of the race.

Cecil, who was 80 when she died, was the first wife of trainer Sir Henry Cecil and daughter of fellow Classic winning handler Sir Noel Murless, and was a great part of the glory years at Warren Place in the 1970s and 80s.

Twenty years after her Town Plate victory as a 17-year-old, Cecil was awarded the prize for the most winners ridden by a woman in her first season as an amateur in 1979. In total, she rode ten winners before calling time on riding at the age of 46.

On staging the Town Plate in her honour, her son Noel Cecil said: “Amy Starkey [managing director of the Jockey Club’s East Region] first mentioned it to me about a month ago.

"Nothing was concrete at that stage but I thought it was a lovely idea. It's a very nice thought and we're very touched the race is being run in her memory as it is a big honour.”

On his mother’s victory in the race, he added: “I can’t remember word for word what she said about the race, but the horse was trained by Humphrey Cottrill, who I don’t think had many winners that season.

"Back then a lot of the winners of the race were women as there weren't the opportunities for them to ride in races under rules like now.

"I think as she won the race, she always quite liked it as it was quite an achievement, and she was pretty chuffed to have won it.”

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