Fundraising ball raises £5,500 for injured trainer Robert Alner
A total of £5,500 has been raised for national hunt trainer Robert Alner and Frenchay Hospital at a fundraising ball at Cheltenham Racecourse.
The ‘Annual Big Bash’, which was held by Cheltenham’s young racecourse members — Club 16-24 —after racing at Cheltenham on Saturday 26 January was a sell-out.
The Dorset-based trainer was seriously injured in a car accident last November and remains in intensive care at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
Mr Alner is slowy making progress and gradually spending more time off the ventilator.
Profits from the evening also included a donation from the National Trainers’ Federation.
A pair of breeches worn by jockey Andrew Thornton when he won the Coral Welsh National on Miko de Beauchene for Mr Alner last December were auctioned off on the night, raising £650 for the cause.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.