Greyhound racing participants in the close knit Centre Tablelands region are in mourning following the shock passing of trainer Paul Steedman on Tuesday night.
Steedman, 64, passed away at his Lidsdale home late on Tuesday night, just hours after his talented chaser Prince Creed raced away for an emphatic victory at the Richmond straight track meeting that afternoon.
Fellow local trainer and good friend Paul Roach made the journey to and from Richmond with Steedman and has understandably been left shaken by the shock news.
“Peter Stanford called me at 1am this morning to tell me the news … just devastating,” Roach said.
“I got up and just sat in my chair for a couple of hours staring at the wall.
“Only hours earlier we were driving home from Richmond both happy we’d got a winner each and now he’s gone.
“Paul was a beautiful man, nice, placid and had no qualms with anyone. He had a dry sense of humour and was a very, very good dog trainer as well.
“Just heartbreaking.”
Roach said the greyhound community in the Lithgow region will rally behind the family.
“His wife Jen found him when she got home from work late last night – terribly sad,” Roach added.
“We’ll rally around her now and do what we can. This just shows again how fragile life is and why you need to live it the absolute fullest.
“My old man used to say to me that ‘civility costs nothing’.
“Paul was just nature’s gentleman.”
Greyhound Racing NSW offers its deepest condolences to Paul's family and friends.
