It is with great sadness that we advise of the incredibly sad passing of our beloved Peter Ewert on Friday morning.
He passed away in his sleep quietly at the house of his brother Dave in Melbourne, after a great day out with friends. He was 71.
Peter was an integral part of Esprit Racing and a great friend to John, Sheila, the team, and of course, to many of you. Whether at the races, the stables, the sales, or just in the car, Pete was a constant companion to John, and although he probably wouldn’t have recognised it, a huge “behind the scenes” contributor to much of the success.
He had one of the greatest days of his life on January 14th when his mate, Irish Constabulary, charged away with the Magic Millions Country Cup.
His booming yell as Irish cleared out and passed the finish line, was part and parcel of the show!
Pete taking centre stage on TV after Irish won first up on a Friday night…
….and then the next morning..
Sheila recalled a couple of the funny times like when Denoninator did his party trick and deftly undid the top bolt of his stable door (he always knew when the bottom catch wasn’t kicked over shut) and wandered out of the stables and down the lane with Pete in hot pursuit at an increasingly lengthening walking stride (Denoninator increased his at the same time of course!) Pete was gaining the upper hand when his strides decided to fall down…..!!
And the time when he was such an incredibly important part of the big move north, driving the car and fully loaded trailer when a tyre went flat. Pete eventually located the spare, pulled it out and, with one bounce, it took off down the km long hill at increasing momentum…!!!!
What a shame they weren’t captured on video! So much fun!
A great story teller, a fantastic travelling companion and an incredibly astute judge of character. It still hasn’t sunk in that he’ll be holding up his strides trying to catch Denoninator in another place now, never to return to his favourite haunts.
Peter, you are so terribly missed!
Two champs together again! Pete and Denoninator.