Haydock Park ‘Blown Away’ With Trilo Products
Haydock Park Racecourse is one of the most used racecourses in the country with racing on 32 days during 2014, consisting of both flat and jump racing.
It is often advertised as being conveniently situated equidistant between the industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool – and yet the course is in a setting of woodland and tree-lined avenues. To help keep the course in top condition, Head Groundsman and Estates Manager Maurice Crooks operates a fleet of Trilo vacuum and blower machinery.
Image caption: Maurice Crooks, Head Groundsman and Estate Manager at Haydock Park Racecourse.
Maurice has been at Haydock for 44 years and currently has a team of 11. “Apart from the obvious need for a vacuum unit on a course beset by autumn leaves,” he explained, “there was the problem of clearing away litter and debris following race meetings and music events. During the demo of the Trilo SG1170 I was literally ‘blown away’ by the strength, low maintenance and competitive price of the machine. It would pick glass bottles up, champagne bottles and shatter them inside.”
As litter clearing is now conducted by external contractors, it has found a new home cleaning out the stables and conducting leaf and site clearance. However, because the stable yards are tight, the SG1170 is a shorter than a standard model, with a 9 cubic metre capacity.
It is used remotely so the boom goes out from the operator in the tractor cab and the wander hose can be put into the stable using a joystick. “Unlike competitor machines it is so easy to operate, you don’t have to lift any pipes meaning there’s no other machine as good as this for Health & Safety.”
“We’ve also had a Trilo BL960A blower in our portfolio for a number of years now, and have been very impressed with it. So much so that we looked no further and called The Grass Group to purchase a second identical blower.”
In summer the team use a 12 foot mower mounted on the front of a tractor and then mount the Trilo BL960A blower on the back to scatter and disperse the grass clippings or clumps. To double up on this activity the original Trilo BL960A has now been joined with a second unit, purchased in in June this year. Having two blowers now means they can have two tractors with two mowers out simultaneously!
Final word from Maurice: “All Trilo products are very well built and very strong. The service from The Grass Group has always been very good and I had no hesitation in recommending both the product and The Grass Group to a friend at Leicester racecourse.”
