MP races his way to £9,781 for Hospice

Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk, galloped his way to raising £9,781 for us when he took part in the 350th Newmarket Town Plate.

Mr Hancock, who came second in the Newmarket town plate race after narrowly being beaten in the closing seconds, visited the charity’s newly relocated Newmarket retail shop to hand over the cheque.

“I am delighted that I was able to raise almost £10,000 for the Hospice it is a charity that supports so many people across West Suffolk and one that is very worthy of support. It is a special charity that helps so many people,” said Mr Hancock.

The oldest horse race in the world, the Town Plate, was inaugurated in 1666 by King Charles II, who rode in and won the first race. Every year since, it has been run over the same three and a half mile course in Newmarket.

Mr Hancock said: “I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the race, it was very exciting from start to finish and I was delighted to be able to do it in aid of the Hospice.”

Mr Hancock visited the charity’s new High Street shop last Friday (23 September, 2016) where he was given a tour of the building and chatted to the shop’s manager Martin Logan and volunteer of seven years Janet Southgate.

Whilst at the store Mr Hancock also spotted a bargain and picked up two chairs which, like other items of furniture for sale in the store, had been up-cycled by prisoners at Highpoint Prison.

The shop is fantastic, it is vibrant and I am sure it will be enjoyed by the people of Newmarket, it is great to see it so busy