Cheltenham Racecourse is referred to as HQ by jump racing fans and no wonder. Not only is it home to the Cheltenham Festival, there’s a busy programme of National Hunt racing from October through to May, plus countless other functions and events year-round.
With 24ha of racing surface, the total estate is more than 200ha so Estates Manager Nathan Williams needs productive, reliable machinery. This year he added a Müthing MU-FM flail mower attachment for the John Deere outfront commercial mower to his armoury.
“We demoed a 1.6m version and knew within 20 minutes that it was exactly what we needed,” he recalls. “I opted for the 1.4m Müthing to ensure that our John Deere, which has been in the fleet for a while, had enough power and we’ve been very impressed.”
Using the spiral rotor and shark fin shredding bar which is renowned for its effectiveness on Müthing’s larger mowers, the MU-FM tackles everything from brush and undergrowth to dense grass growth, producing a fine mulch.
“The productivity and quality of the work is outstanding,” says Nathan. “We’ve even used it to clear brambles from an area of the centre course that hadn’t been touched since Covid times. It’s so much more efficient than using brushcutters. It would take 4-5 groundsmen with strimmers a week to do what the Müthing can do in a day.”
He adds that it has also been invaluable on long grass and even the lawned area in the Guinness village.
“The mulching action gives a really good finish,” he comments.
Nathan adds that the Müthing is a great combination with the John Deere, floating on its front linkage and lifting clear of kerbs and banks.
A major plus of the Müthing design is its ability to withstand tough conditions.
“We specified the stone proof plate inside the hood for some of the debris we come across on site,” he explains. “Other mowers are more difficult and expensive to fix if you hit something.”
Nathan concludes that his team are finding new uses for the machine all the time and says: “It’s paid for itself already!”
