Fell family’s contribution acknowledged
10 Aug 2016The Fell family has been honoured at NZ Thoroughbred Racing’s night of glitz and glamour in Auckland.
At the Horse of the Year dinner, the NZTR Award for Outstanding Contribution to Racing was accepted by Gerald Fell on behalf of himself and his brother Rex, who lost his brave battle with cancer in April at the age of 71.
“I'm very honoured, and I'm sure my late brother would be equally honoured to be presented with this award this evening,”" Gerald Fell said.
“Rex passed away in April, but until then we were always together. I guess our parents' advice that we worked better together was right.”
The brothers owned and operated Fairdale Stud, which became one of the country’s leading thoroughbred farms with Melbourne Cup winner Hyperno leading more than 200 other black-type winners such as Plume and Tall Poppy.
Fairdale’s champion sire Pakistan II won six stallion titles in the late 1960s and 1970s.
In 2007, the brothers divided their thoroughbred investments and Rex and his son Will founded Goodwood Stud while Gerald remained at Fairdale Stud with his son Duncan.
“Another thing I'm proud of is the Hall of Fame. There was a danger of losing some of those wonderful memories, but now they're preserved forever,” Gerald Fell said.