Channon injured in car crash which kills owner

The trainer Mick Channon has been seriously injured in a car crash in which his long-time friend, the renowned bloodstock agent and racehorse owner Tim Corby, died. The 59-year-old former England footballer was returning from a day buying yearlings at Doncaster Sales with Corby and the trainer's 15-year-old son, Jack.

The incident took place on a stretch of the M1 motorway at junction 24, near Kegworth at 4.19pm on Wednesday. According to Leicestershire Police, Corby died when the silver Mercedes he was driving left the motorway and hit a concrete pillar. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Channon, who trains in the village of West Ilsley in Berkshire in stables formerly owned by The Queen, and his youngest son were taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham by air ambulance. The former Southampton striker is suffering from broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured jaw and a punctured lung, according to his older son Michael. He will undergo surgery today to pin bones in his arm and have his jaw wired. Jack Channon was "battered and bruised" but was not seriously injured.

Michael Channon added: "Tim Corby was a friend of dad's for over 30 years. He was a renowned figure in the racing scene and was universally popular in the industry. He will be sorely missed by the residents of East and West Ilsley, his many friends, and most of all the Corby family." Channon leaves a wife, Sheila, and daughter, Adriana.

"Mick is conscious and able to talk from his hospital bed and he's absolutely devastated at the loss of Tim," Michael Channon added.

The Newmarket trainer George Margarson had known Corby for 30 years and they had worked together when Corby was racing manager for John Guest, whose Barathea Guest was third in the 2,000 Guineas eight years ago.

"I've known him since I was at Mick Ryan's, when he was an amateur rider," said Margarson. "The yearling sales were what you associated with Tim. He talked about the yearlings having gone through the catalogues. I remember picking out Barathea Guest. Tim checked him out and bought him for Mr Guest. He's had some good horses and managed a lot of horses."

One of Corby's biggest successes as an owner came under the Box 41 banner when the Channon-trained Halicarnassus won the Rose of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock last year, ridden by Tadhg O'Shea, who said: "It will be a big blow to the yard and everybody around it as he was a popular figure."

Tony Culhane, who rides for the Channon stable, was also a close friend of Corby, who originally bought Katchit before he was later sold to Alan King, for whom he went on to win the Champion Hurdle.

"The thing I remember most about him," Culhane said, "is that he may sell a horse but he took such pride in their achievements even after they had left him – like Katchit – because it gave someone else pleasure, it gave him great satisfaction."

Interesting? Click here to explore further