It’s no wonder we have a quaintly
British fascination with the weather at the Racecourse, when months of careful
planning for a big family raceday are scuppered by a dismal forecast and rain
which starts, right on 12 noon, just as gates open.
Not to be deterred by the
unseasonable conditions, local horse Royale Knight stayed on well to the line
to win the second chase on the card. Trained at Claines by Dr Richard Newland, Royale Knight, who is out of
Gardana by Kings Theatre was bred in Hanbury by Robert Chugg.
Sold by Chugg for 30,000 gns, the
horse had a spell in Ireland before returning to his home county and notching
up a four timer last autumn for Newland. The gelding is a full brother to the useful Charlie Longsdon trained /
Robert Waley-Cohen owned Frisco Depot, who ran in the Kim Muir at the
Cheltenham Festival in March.
Newland was busy at the DBS sales
in Doncaster in the week, selling and re-stocking his string.
Another horse to grace the sales
was Anquetta, trained by Nicky Henderson. Having won the £20,000 feature handicap chase at Worcester on Sunday by
a length from Paul Nicholls’ Woolcombe Folly, the horse was sold to Highflyer
Bloodstock for 24,000 gns.
I feel it important to draw
attention to further episodes of wanton vandalism at the Racecourse, by
mindless individuals with nothing better to do.
New owners, ARC have invested in the course this year for the good of
racegoers and local people who enjoy a stroll by the river and within a matter
of days new turnstiles were trashed, the marquee was broken into, copious amounts
of running rail was ripped down and irrigation pipes were torn apart and
scattered. It is extremely frustrating.
On a more positive note, Cropthorne
trainer Tony Carroll had a winner with Le Bacardy at Kempton’s final spring jumps
fixture and Alexandra Dunn from Himbleton, who has recently set up a training
yard in Somerset, rode Double Mead to victory in a hunter chase at Fontwell.
The indomitable Tony McCoy
returned to action at Ludlow, following a month on the sidelines with fractured
ribs following a fall from Quantitativeeasing at Cheltenham. In true grit style, McCoy’s first ride was a
winning one aboard the Jonjo O’Neill trained Church Field in a novice handicap
hurdle.
Encouraging entries for
Worcester’s meeting tomorrow evening include a record number in the annual
Hargreave Hale hunter chase, which is the first race on the card. Horses entered for this race must
have qualified with one of 13 hunts in the West Midlands area and so a local
winner is assured.
Another annual feature of this
race meeting is the presentation of the Richard Davis award by Richard’s family
and supported by the Cheltenham and Three Counties Race Club, to the top conditional
jockey riding at Cheltenham, Chepstow, Ludlow, Stratford, Towcester, Warwick
and Worcester racecourses over the past 12 months. This year’s trophy will be awarded to Michael
Nolan.
The first race is due off at
5.50pm and the St Richard’s Hospice Panto Horse Race is at 6.30pm.
