Finalists – Dedication to Breeding 2017

Author Mike Hedge, 6 June, 2017

 

The foaling season on any stud farm is a time when valuable mares and their foals can be at their most vulnerable.

For Coolmore Australia’s Patrick Sheehan and Vikki Cannon from Gooree Park Stud, it is also the time when their experience, skill and devotion to their horses is called on more than ever.

Patrick has been at Coolmore for 11 years, most of it at the organisation’s Australian operation at Jerry’s Plains in the Hunter Valley where he is the foaling manager. According to Coolmore Australia’s Tom Magnier, Patrick’s work is marked by “utter dependability, effortless calm and a profound love for thoroughbreds”. “To have my work recognised by Godolphin and the industry through these awards is a great personal honour and also fantastic encouragement for younger people coming through,” Patrick says.

Vikki Cannon has played an integral role at Gooree for 33 years, delivering more than 3,000 ‘babies’ who make up seven generations of thoroughbred families. Her nominators named “care, encouragement and compassion” as qualities that shine through in Vikki’s work. “It’s been a magnificent life for me at Gooree and I can’t imagine feeling more satisfied in a job,” Vikki says. “At the same time, it’s such a wonderful thing for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin to recognise those of us who aren’t at the forefront. To be a finalist is fantastic, to win the award would be the most amazing recognition.”

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