First race down, 16 to go!

It was amazing to see just how much the ground had dried in such a short space of time, as the 69 horses contested the first 6 races of the new season at Worcester last week.

The story of the day was the seemingly easy victory of Sir Alex Ferguson’s I’m Fraam Goran in the concluding bumper, at the precise moment when his owner’s football team, Manchester United lost the premiership to Manchester City. The George Baker trained four year old saw off the challenges of Paul Nicholls’ fancied Easter day with jockey Connor O’Farrell needing to do nothing more than steering job to the line.

The newly established Jonjo O’Neill Racing Club had their first runner at the same meeting. Deed of Gift, having only his second outing, was previously placed fourth in a Southwell Racecourse bumper in February. The horse ran moderately and will certainly come on for the experience.

Local interest included Himbleton based William and Angela Rucker’s promising Tornado In Milan rallying well into second behind Philip Hobbs’ Reste Gosse in the maiden hurdle. The Ruckers also own recent Grand National runners State of Play and Cappa Bleu. Tornado In Milan’s form is promising and this will be another one to keep an eye on.

Claines trainer, Richard Newland, tells us that he has a good team lined up for the summer jumping campaign including Paddy the Hare, who was just pipped into second in a handicap hurdle at Southwell Racecourse in the week, following a few months break. 

Relishing the drying ground, Jolly Roger trained in Cropthorne by Tony Carroll, made it 2 from 2 at Uttoxeter in 6 days, staying on well to take the 2m handicap hurdle on Saturday.

Todays meeting at Worcester sees the first of five evening fixtures this summer and this one features the annual Hargreave Hale Stockbrokers hunters’ chase. This has great local significance as it is the only race we stage with the restrictive condition that all the horses entered must have qualified in the West Midlands point to point area, including Worcestershire and the adjacent counties. Amongst the entries for this year’s race is the Queen’s Barber’s Shop who is a former Cheltenham Gold Cup runner, trained by Nicky Henderson. Interestingly, Punchestown run their annual Bishop’s Court Cup at the April Festival meeting, which is confined to horses owned by farmers living in the surrounding county of Kildare. Such is the local importance attached to these kinds of races that Hexham have just been granted permission by the BHA to reschedule their Heart of All England Maiden hunters’ chase, a race with a history dating back to 1907, which was lost to waterlogging last week.

With a great evening’s racing in store and sunshine forecast, the gates open at 3.50 pm and the first race is due off at 5.50 pm.

What a difference a week makes!

Can you believe the first set of 6 pictures compared to the bottom pictures? Just over a week ago we had alot of water on the track. We all know how bad the weather had been over the past few weeks, and it looks as if the racecourse got the brunt of it! What a cracking job the estates team did to get the racecourse into such cracking condition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Droughts and floods, racing goes ahead!

Who would have thought we could be struck by both in the same month, just prior to the start of the new racing season, bringing considerable challenges to the ground staff.

We went to the recent Punchestown Festival where the horses needed flippers to plough their way through surface water on the track. Little did we expect the River Severn to surge through the drains at Worcester upon our return. It is probably due to a minor miracle and in no small way to the decision for the first time to use a pump to clear the track of standing water, that Sunday’s fixture goes ahead, 207 days since we last raced.

There are many reasons to come racing at Worcester this summer which include themed days such as Ladies Day (9th June), Countryside Family Day (10th June) and the new Armed Forces Celebration Day in aid of Help For Heroes (27th June) when Centre Course entry is FREE for all.

Another reason to follow the horses running at Pitchcroft is that some of these progress to achieve bigger accolades on a grander stage. The Cheltenham Festival in March was a fine example. Owen Glendower, an impressive winner at Worcester for Nicky Henderson last year, gave each way backers something to smile about on day one of the Festival, coming in third at 33/1. Donald McCain's Son of Flicka and Nick Gifford's Pascha Bere, both former Worcester winners, stormed up the Cheltenham hill to take the honours in the Coral Cup and the St Patrick's Derby respectively.The best achievement was by a former winner of Worcester’s annual Fred Rimell Memorial Chase. The Giant Bolster, trained in nearby Gloucestershire by David Bridgewater, chased Synchronised all the way to the line in the Gold Cup. The performance, easily his best to date at a huge price of 50/1 with last year's winner, Long Run, behind in third, was very impressive.

The Worcester Racing Club, whose horses are trained by Worcester’s 2011 leading trainer, Sean Lycett, got off to a fine start for the summer last month with their flagship horse, Fade To Grey, whose form at Worcester last year read 1,2,2,1. Forced to abandon plans for a recent Cheltenham run due to rain softened ground, Fade to Grey bolted up at Wolverhampton and also won again at Kempton last Monday. Lycett will certainly have his eyes on the prize of top trainer again this summer when the championship has a new sponsor in Red Mills, suppliers of horse feed. 

Entries for Sunday's hurdle card are strong, and the races will be watched for the first time by the 10 finalists of ‘Worcestershire Rose’. The winner, who will act as an ambassador for Worcestershire, helping with charity fund raising and events, will be announced in the parade ring following the final race of the day.

The gates open at 12.20pm and we are certainly looking forward to a great afternoon's racing for the season opener.

A quick history of the racecourse!

According to the celebrated local historian, the late Bill Gwilliam, the name Pitchcroft originates from the site’s full name, Pitchcroft Ham or, more anciently, Pitchcroft Holme, meaning the inner-island, a reference to the fact that the area acts as one of the city’s main floodplains. In times of flood, as seen all too often recently, the water can be as deep as three feet high across the entire site. The southern tip, now Croft Road car park, was locally referred to as Little Pitchcroft around the time the railway viaduct bisected the site in 1852. 

During the first English Civil War, Royalist soldiers used Pitchcroft as the venue to recruit new members, drill and practise their archery, hence the naming of the nearby ‘Butts’, where the arrows fell at the foot or ‘butt’ of the city walls. Even Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice used the site and were caught unawares one morning during a siege when, according to contemporary reports, ‘suddenly a troop of five hundred horse attacked the Royals, who retired in confusion into the town.’ The military links to the site led to the area between Pitchcroft and the Tything being named Militia Meadow.

In a battle of another kind, local boxer and heavyweight champion, Tom Spring fought Jack Langan on a crowded and flooded Pitchcroft in January 1824. The fight, for a purse of 300 sovereigns, around £25,000 in today’s money, drew spectators from far and wide. Some 40,000 spectators braved the freezing conditions, the flood water and a crush caused by a temporary stand collapsing, to watch the contest. The bout lasted 77 rounds and ended with an exhausted Langan being carried prone but conscious from the ring.

Of course, Pitchcroft is most famous for horse racing which has taken place on the site since at least 1718, making Worcester one of the oldest racecourses in Britain and on a hot summer’s day its appeal is obvious. The railway’s arrival only contributed to the popularity of the meets especially as a specially constructed ‘spur-line’ took race-goers to within yards of the turnstiles on race-days.

The course layout has changed numerous times through its history with the once popular flat racing discontinued in 1966, but the National Hunt meetings, utilising the course’s fences, continues to provide exciting racing with large fields. In a popular move with spectators and jockey’s alike, summer jumping started at the course in 1995.

To view the original article this content was taken from, click here. The content was written by Judd Doughty who is a Lecturer and Course Leader in Sport at Worcester College of Technology.

Racing is near...

Umberto Giannini ‘Worcestershire Rose’ Family Race day – 13th May – update:

The ten finalists for the contest to find the 2012 Worcestershire Rose successfully came through the Worcester News public voting stage last week and they have each been set a task! The finalists will be supporting the 2nd Skin Lingerie Bra-chain in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Worcester Breast Unit, by collecting as many bras as they can before the 13th May raceday.  Come on the day to support the ladies and to see who has collected the most bras. We cant wait to crown our Worcestershire Rose for 2012! 

Enjoy a great day’s racing for all the family at the opening fixture of the 2012 season.  Click here to book tickets.

Countdown to the Worcester Festival of Racing Weekend, 9th and 10th June

With just nine weeks to go, tickets for the festival of racing weekend on Saturday 9th June and Family Fun Day on 10th June are selling fast with sales ahead of the same period in 2011 which saw a record crowd on the day.  Don’t leave it too late to book your tickets!  Click here to book now, get in fast while we still have tickets available! 

6 weeks till racing!

With just over 6 weeks to go until racing begins at Worcester Racecourse, the office is getting much busier with ticket sales and phone calls! 

It has just been confirmed that Jenny Pitman will be the guest of honour for the Wednesday Club Independence Day networking and social event in the racecourse marquee on the 4th July. Open for bookings to all, the fantastic value hospitality package at just £35 includes county entrance, refreshments on arrival, a two course lunch, racecards and a tipster talk. Click here for more details. 

We are also delighted to announce that the The Roving Crows have been booked to play for two nights at Worcester Racecourse! The band, which have a great local following, have been booked to liven up Irish race night on Wednesday 11th July and also The Pershore Plum Festival Family race night Tues 31st July. Formed in early 2009, the Roving Crows’ inexhaustible energy gives them a stand-alone status in the up-surging live music scene, boasting fiery fiddle playing, trumpet, guitar, drums, bass and vocals. If you would like to see more from the band, Click Here to go to their website.

Armed Forces Heroes – 27th June

There has been great excitement at the racecourse this week as it has been announced that more than 250 members of the Grenadier Guards and The Queen’s Royal Hussars (including marching bands) will parade through the city centre on Wednesday 27th June, ahead of the national Armed Forces Day on 30th June.  This will followed by an afternoon of racing at Pitchcroft with FREE entry to EVERYONE in the Centre Course enclosure (complimentary tickets can be obtained at the turnstiles on the day).  In addition to seven national hunt races, attractions at the Racecourse will include fundraising and a charity race for Help For Heroes, war horses and military vehicle displays, army recruiting stand and military music.  A race day not to be missed!