Olly Murphy pays tribute after success of Zee Man to owner who died of coronavirus

Olly Murphy pays tribute after success of Zee Man to owner who died of coronavirus

By Harry Allwood
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Zee Man recorded a poignant success at Fakenham on Monday following the passing of previous owner Brian Vaughan who died from coronavirus in November.
It was a first victory for the seven-year-old who was purchased by Vaughan’s wife Sheila in 2017 after the pair sold their family-run business, Walls And Ceilings, and remained winless from 13 starts when in training with David Dennis afterwards.
Sheila, who sadly passed away in 2018, had high hopes for the son of Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune who had been sent into training with Olly Murphy ahead of this season.
Both Brian and Sheila were owners for over fifteen years and previously had various horses in training with Ian Williams and Claire Dyson, with Brian being involved in a number of syndicates with Olly Murphy over the past 12 months. The pair also regularly sponsored races at their local course, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and were keen racegoers.
Murphy was quick to pay tribute to Brian after his new recruit recorded a seven-length victory on his chasing debut in the Wells Next The Sea Novices’ Handicap Chase.
“Unfortunately, Brian Vaughan, his previous owner, passed away a few weeks ago,” Murphy said.
“He was a real keen supporter of racing and he was a local man who had just moved the horse to me and had shares in other horses as well.
“He will have been cheering the horse on from above.”
Zee Man is now owned by the Geegeez syndicate and was ridden for the first time by Fergus Gregory, who dedicated the victory to Brian afterwards.
"It’s quite a sad story, but he’s left Olly the horse and the Geegeez syndicate have taken him on," Gregory told Sky Sports Racing.
"It's a sad story but in his memory, that was great. Hopefully this is the start of the horse progressing.”
Zee Man could bid to follow up his smooth victory at Lingfield on Friday where he holds an entry in the 2m Novices’ Handicap Chase.
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