Groom killed in Kempton Park racecourse accident

Darryl Sherer - Monday October 16

The groom that was injured in a stable accident at Kempton Park racecourse in England on Saturday night has died.

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Kempton Park racecourse.

Ken Dooley was employed by trainer Amanda Perrett and suffered fatal injuries following an incident in the stable yard prior to race seven.

Perrett issued a statement to the Press Association on Sunday.

"It is with huge sadness that I can confirm we lost our friend and colleague Ken Dooley after an incident in the stable yard at Kempton last night.

"Ken had been with us for seven years and was a very special member of our close-knit family business at Coombelands.

"He was an excellent employee, very experienced with racehorses having worked all of his life with them as a jockey, trainer and jockey coach around the world. He was always first into work in the morning, hugely enthusiastic and dedicated to his horses and a very much valued and integral member of our team.

"I would like to thank my staff, Brian Clifford, the stable and racecourse staff at Kempton, Hugo Palmer's travelling head lad, Dr Lucy Free and the ambulance service who were so quickly there to help Ken.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time."

Surrey Police have opened an investigation into the incident that prompted the abandonment of the fixture with two races remaining.

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