Anita Anderson Green, who along with husband Ray co-owned hundreds of winners on the Flat and over jumps, has died. She was 64 and also leaves behind a daughter, Verity, and son, Dominic whose wife Natalie is a presenter on ITV Racing.

 

A familiar and popular figure, particularly on the northern scene, she had been bravely battling illness for several years and passed away peacefully at her East Lothian home last weekend.

 

Mrs Anderson Green was a major force in the NSPCC for over four decades and she helped organise a race containing that title at Kelso every year. Having began as a branch secretary, she became national chairman for ten years and was awarded the OBE for her services to children.

 

Her husband said: “She had a unique ability to communicate with all walks of life and was just as at ease joking with my football mates as she would be talking to the Queen.

 

“She was genuinely interested in everyone she spoke to and even sent hundreds of letters to people who had lost someone close – some of those letters date back ten or fifteen years and the families have been in touch to say how sad they are to hear she has died.

 

“We enjoyed 435 winners together in the Anderson Green colours and there are so many happy memories. They included Merigo’s two Scottish National wins (2010 & 2012) but it was also brilliant to win with Life Is Life (2001 Queen Alexandra Stakes) at Royal Ascot and Sparky Gayle (1997 Cathcart Challenge Cup) at the Cheltenham festival.”

 

A memorial service for Mrs Anderson Green will be held at a future date yet to be decided.

 

Best wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Harriet Graham as she recovers from a cracked pelvis sustained in a freak accident.

 

Harriet, a successful trainer as well as clerk of the course at Hamilton Park and Musselburgh, was run over by her own lorry as she stopped to help a man she thought was in distress near her Jedburgh base.

 

Harriet returned home on Wednesday (and watched Racing TV from Ayr!) after a short spell being treated in hospital and she reckons it is unlikely she will be fit enough for clerking duties at Musselburgh on November 23 or to be at Newbury to see stable star Aye Right participate in the Ladbrokes Trophy Chase five days later.

 

She said: “It turned out that the man in a Land Rover that I thought was having a heart attack or something was perfectly okay. But then, as our lorry was reversing back to help, I was in the blind spot and ended up being knocked underneath.

 

“I’m going to be sidelined for a bit as I’m very sore but everything is otherwise going on as it

normally would  at the yard and the plan is still very much for Aye Right to head for Newbury later in the month.”

 

Harriet received the perfect tonic at Newcastle on Friday as Dancewiththewind, carrying the Aye Right colours of Geoff and Elspeth Adam, followed up his Kelso success in the hands of Callum Bewley.

No racing in Scotland this coming week and the next action pencilled in is at Musselburgh on Monday November 23 when the feature race is the racingtv.com Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase over two miles.

 

Don’t forget to check out our Twitter feed (@ScottishRacing) and www.scottishracing.co.uk for all the latest news.