Such a vile thing to say. Henderson leads tributes to legendary Wogan BY JAMES BURN 11:49AM 31 JAN 2016 LEADING trainer Nicky Henderson paid tribute to legendary BBC broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan, who has died at the age of 77 after a short illness. Wogan enjoyed a 50-year career on radio and televsion, was the voice of Eurovision in the UK for many years and was also heavily involved in the Children in Need charity appeal. In a statement on Sunday, his family said: "Sir Terry Wogan died today after a short but brave battle with cancer." Described by BBC director general Tony Hall as a true national treasure, Wogan, whose Wake Up To Wogan radio show was one of the most listened to in Britain, had a keen interest in racing and had horses with Henderson and his Lambourn counterpart Barry Hills. He was a close friend of the late Sir Peter O'Sullevan and gave a reading at the commentator's memorial service in October. Love of racing "It's very sad," said Henderson. "He was lovely. A great man and a great broadcaster. He loved racing and was a great man to talk to; he was just like he sounded and was as nice a person in private as he was in public." please log in to view this image Wogan the horse winning at Doncaster in 2010 PICTURE: Martin Lynch (racingpost.com.photos) Wogan's friendship with owner Peter Deal led to a horse - whose biggest victory came under Andrew Tinkler in the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster in 2010 - being named after him. Henderson recalled: "We had a horse by Presenting, and Peter Deal, who was a friend of Terry's, bought it. Peter talked to Terry and we called it Wogan. "We had a lot of fun with him and Terry saw him run a couple of times. I always rang him before and after his races and the horse got lots of plugs on the radio. Terry loved it. "It was funny because if I'd spoken to him one day about the horse you knew he was going to go on about it on the radio. He was very amusing when he was talking about the horse or us." 'Such a nice man' Wogan teamed up with Lady Lloyd-Webber to race The Grocers Curate with Henderson in 2005. "I suggested the name as my dad was in the grocery trade," said Wogan, who also had Guv's Joy with Hills in the 1990s. Grand National-winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill also paid tribute, tweeting: "Very sad news about Terry Wogan. My thoughts are with his family at this time. We have lost a true broadcasting legend." Tony McCoy, the 20-time champion jump jockey, added: "Very sad news about Sir Terry Wogan, such a nice man. Thoughts are with his wife Helen and family."
Geez, take a bow Ardent! Nice one. Well done all collecting today Nice to see the worried faces continuing at Closutton, just the three winners today
