Racing Abandoned

Unfortunately due to the poor weather we have been having over the last few days, racing has had to be abandoned tomorrow. Clerk of the Course Fergus Cameron said ""Following a further rise in the level of the River Severn overnight and with parts of the track now under more water than this time yesterday, we have reluctantly concluded that there is no longer sufficient time for a recovery to take place before tomorrow's scheduled meeting, so we have abandoned it". He went on to say "The river hasn't burst but water has just percolated up from the ground. Our next meeting is October 11th so we're all systems go for that".

Apologies to everyone involved in tomorrow's meeting, the ground staff have been working none stop to get us in a race-able condition. For any ticket enquiries for tomorrows fixture, please call 01905 25364.

We look forward to seeing you at our next fixture on Thursday 11th October, gates open at 12.00pm with the first race at 2.00pm. Click Here for more information.

Weather Watch

With the inclement weather with us again, and with racing on this Friday, we will be subject to an 8am inspection on Thursday.

Back straight – soft
Home straight – heavy (surface water on the run-in and Cathedral bend)
Cathedral bend 3 yards off the inside line
Northern bend on the inside
Run in on the far rail
61mm rain has fallen since Sunday morning
Forecast mainly dry through until Friday

There are also road works on the M5 junction 5-6 which may cause delays, so leave plenty of travel time!

September Racing

We have heard it said many times that horses can make fools of us. However much five star treatment and up-to-the-minute training we give them, they really are their own masters. There was a great example of this at the recent Worcester meeting. 

Keenes Day trained by Sophie Leech at Westbury on Severn had virtually refused to race at Sedgefield the previous evening, being pulled up after the first hurdle. The following day at Worcester, he played up in the parade ring, had to be led at the start and again showed mulish behaviour when the tapes went up. It took skilful horsemanship from jockey James Best to coax him into the race at all, whereupon he eventually took up the bridle and won the novice hurdle staying on by 6 lengths. The horse is obviously talented but only prepared to race under his terms and certainly would not be relied on to follow up. 

An interesting horse to watch going forward is Royale’s Charter trained by Nick Williams, who saw off the challenges of the Claines trained favourite, Bobowen on the same day. Running in the Novice chase, a race two grades lower than his previous outing 214 days earlier, the son of Karinga Bay put in a stout performance and will be able to build on that over the winter. 

Phillip Hobbs was left musing the victory of his second string, Calusa Caldera in the opening handicap chase at odds of 25/1. The horse is owned by Peter Luff who also owned the 1986 Grand National winner, West Tip, trained locally at Elmley Lovett by Michael Oliver. 

Worcestershire trainers recorded success on a recent foray to Huntingdon. In form Claines trainer, Richard Newland’s Changing the Guard won the 2 mile handicap hurdle under Tom O’Brien, who also rode the same trainer’s Paddy the Hare into second in the novice chase. Hanley Swan’s Andy Hobbs ran Nether Stream to win the conditional jockeys selling hurdle from Newland’s Stage Acclaim. Jockey Charlie Huxley will not longer be eligible for conditional jockeys’ races as he rode out his claim with this victory. On the same card, Heezagrey who is trained at Broadwas by James Evans improved his 2-45 strike rate to win the handicap hurdle. One of those previous wins was at Worcester last year in the John Burke Memorial chase, an annual race which will be run again on the 28th September. 

Very much in the news currently, Hereford racecourse hosted a good win for local trainer Jeff Sadik from Wolverley this week. Five year old Finch Flyer followed up his Bangor success just days earlier under a positive drive from champion jockey, Tony McCoy. The horse beat recent Worcester winner, Faith Jicaro who has just changed trainers from Rachel Hobbs to her husband, Andy. 

With four meetings to the end of the season, the leading Worcester trainer’s table is worth noting. Just 15 points separate the top 5 trainers – David Pipe, Richard Phillips, Nigel Twiston-Davies, Paul Nicholls and Richard Woollacott. With 10 points awarded for a win, it really still is anybody’s race. 

The first race at Pitchcroft today is due at 2.10pm and the gates open from 12.10pm.

The week that was!

There was a noticeable Noah’s Ark theme to racing last week, when certain trainers celebrated successes two by two.

Recording the first ever double at her local track since taking out a trainer’s licence in 2008, Rachel Hobbs from Hanley Swan was delighted to see Benny’s Quest driven clear by Peter Carberry in the handicap chase at Pitchcroft on Tuesday.  This was followed half an hour later by Donal Fahy on Faith Jicaro in the mare’s maiden hurdle who won by 8 lengths at 9/1. It was the jockey’s first winner since breaking his back last season. Fahy was still coming down to earth having returned to the UK that morning fresh from winning the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest and toughest horse race featuring 35 riders and 25 horse stations.  The gruelling test included spending 14 hours a day in the saddle riding semi-wild horses and ponies over 1,000 km of challenging Mongolian landscape alongside fellow jockey, Richie Killoran.

Trainer Brian Ellison made the 176 mile journey from Malton in north Yorkshire worth while when both mares he sent triumphed in their respective races. Floral Patches, formerly trained by Anthony Honeyball, won the novice hurdle.  She was ridden by amateur jockey, Harriet Bethell who was having her first ride at the course. Ellison’s other runner, Dream Risk was a well backed favourite for the conditional jockeys handicap hurdle. The horse was unperturbed by the fracas at the start when Lawney Hills’ Overlay took a dislike to the idea of racing, gave jockey Tom Cannon no chance of staying on and bolted round the course, tack flying in all directions.

Allerford Jack, trained by Richard Woollacott recorded his second win at the course in as many months, having also scored at Uttoxeter and Stratford in between. Former Worcester winners in August 2011, Red Not Blue trained by Simon Earle and Papradon trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies both managed to get their noses in front at the course again. Red Not Blue was ridden by champion Jockey, AP McCoy as regular rider, Andrew Thornton is currently on the injury list and Papradon was following up a recent Stratford win.

Another local trainer enjoying a double at Stratford in the week was Ian Williams.  Tyrana who has been a tricky mare to win with, came right on the day in the novice handicap hurdle, followed by Bittersweetheart ridden by Dougie Costello in the concluding bumper.

The evening meetings are now behind us and the autumn is fast approaching.  The nights drawing in and the heavy morning dews indicate one thing.  The winter national hunt season is on its way.

The first race at Pitchcroft today is due at 2.20pm and the gates open from 12.20pm.

Racing on 21st August

We have had a busy few weeks at the racecourse, the weather and one thing or another has kept us extremely busy! Our Pershore Plum festival was a brilliant day for all involved, although accidents around and about Worcester did leave us with horse boxes and racegoers being delayed by up to 2 hours reaching the Racecourse! Trainer Peter Bowen, who had travelled from Haverford west unloaded his runner in the first, Earl Grez, in the middle of Worcester and led the horse through the streets for a mile and a half to arrive in time!

Trainer Bob Buckler had a week to remember with Mister Matt. The horse ran on strongly to take the annual Pershore Plum Festival Land O’Plums Chase on the Tuesday night, and followed that with a win in Newton Abbot’s feature £25K handicap chase on the Saturday. 

Richard Woollacott continued his fine run of form with Allerford Jack posting wins at Worcester and Uttoxeter, 5 days apart. Both handicap chases were sponsored coincidentally, by Weatherby’s Bloodstock Insurance. The hat-trick was posted at Stratford, with Woollacott’s Deb’s Dasher also scoring in the novice chase as the outsider of three at 14-1. 

Goodwood was certainly Glorious for Cropthorne’s Tony Carroll whose Time Medicean won a 5 furlong, 23 runner race from the bottom of the handicap at 22/1. The horse now heads for the grey’s race at the July course in Newmarket which he won last year. 

The new August ten day jump racing break has passed with not all parties happy. Jockey Aidan Coleman tweeted on Friday ‘no racing, no money’. 

Consequently, there is a strong entry for the final evening meeting of the season at Pitchcroft today when gates open at 2.50pm and the first race is due off at 4.50pm. We look forward to your support! 

Pershore Plum Festival Raceday

How many times at the race meeting on Wednesday did I hear ‘what a difference a week makes?’  It was quite unbelievable to be abandoning a meeting one week and watering the same ground 5 days later, which had turned almost ‘firm’.

Not to be deterred from running their horses at Worcester however, trainers made 313 entries for last week’s meeting at the 6 day stage, declaring 187 of these to run the day before racing.  Due to our stable capacity of 95 and the ‘runner per stable’ rule, 92 of these horses were unfortunately balloted out.  Worcester remains firmly on the map as a popular summer jumping course.

This summer’s National Hunt racing in our locale is a tale of three ‘Richards’.

Former champion point to point jockey, Richard Woollacott boasted a 50% strike rate from his runners over the 14 days prior to our meeting.  The wins included a double at Uttoxeter, one of which was with Vintage Tea who ran at Worcester’s Ladies’ Day in June.

Woops of encouragement from Woollacott rang around the parade ring on Wednesday, when his Allerford Jack just touched off David Rees’ Chandler’s Cross in the opening Handicap Chase.

Richard Phillips remains a close second to David Pipe in the Worcester trainer’s table and Claines trainer, Richard Newland is in the form of his life.

Newland’s Bobowen posted victories recently at Stratford and again on Thursday at Uttoxeter.  Smalib Monterg registered his third victory since being claimed in a Ludlow seller in April by winning the handicap hurdle at Newton Abbott in the week.  Paddy the Hare also came a good second in Uttoxeter’s beginner’s chase.  

On the same card, Newland had a rare bumper runner, Rex Appeal who also put in an excellent performance only to be pipped on the line by a short head.

Another local trainer in great form currently is Tony Carroll.   Direct Flo gave Carroll a Worcester winner on Wednesday, after which Carroll declared the mare a sun worshipper, commenting ‘she likes it when the sun shines’.

The Kevin Morgan trained My Farmer Girl was one of three mares to take the honours at Pitchcroft.  Her owner/breeder, John Duckworth was pleased his perseverance paid off as he had travelled to the course from Glasgow the previous week to watch the mare run, only for the meeting to be abandoned.

Eyes will be on the Festival from Galway this coming week.  A number of British raiders are planning to make the trip with trainers Rebecca Curtis and Sophie Leech making entries for the Galway Plate, and Tim Vaughan, Donald McCain and Peter Bowen amongst 6 trainers with intended runners in the Galway Handicap Hurdle.

Worcester has its own feature night tomorrow when the Pershore Plum Festival family race evening will include the third running of the revived Land O’Plums Chase, formerly run at Pershore Racecourse in the early 1900’s.

It is also a night when the course supports Racing Welfare, a very worthy charity who looks after anyone in need, connected to the racing industry.  Silent auction lots will include Mornings on the Gallops generously donated by Jonjo O’Neill, Charlie Longsdon and Tim Vaughan.

The gates open at 3.50 pm and the first race is due off at 5.50pm.

http://www.worcester-racecourse.co.uk/raceday/fixtures.html?mode=view&fix=2295

Racing from the past week

Local successes at any race track are always heartening and last Wednesday at Worcester, in very testing and tiring conditions, four horses from our area put their noses in front to find themselves in the winner’s enclosure. The procession began in the first race with a horse appropriately named for the weather, Aqualung, trained at Alvechurch by Ian Williams. The race was a handicap chase sponsored by Chaddesly Corbett School, Winterfold House. Interestingly, Williams had arranged for a group of ladies from the Worcester based networking group, The Wednesday Club, to spend the morning on the gallops at his Dominion Racing Stables. The Ladies were delighted to see the trainer enjoy the first winner of the day from their hospitality marquee by the parade ring, where the guest of honour was Jenny Pitman. Williams had had 5 winners from his last 26 runners going into the meeting, giving him a good strike rate of 19%.

The John O’Shea trained Stafford Charlie from Newnham-on-Severn won the second race, followed by success for Paul Davies from Bromyard with Samtheman in the selling hurdle. Former trotting and point to point trainer as well as saddler Davies, was delighted with his first winner under rules, having also had a second placed horse just half an hour earlier in the bumper with outsider of the field, All Hope at 28/1.

Samtheman was ridden by the only lady jockey of the day, Alice Mills, and having previously recorded a win in a maiden point in May, the 7 year old romped home to win by 12 lengths at another decent price of 25/1.
Bidding in the subsequent auction went the way of jockey Tom Molloy on behalf of trainer, Graeme McPherson who paid 7,000 guineas for the horse.

The fifth race went to the Venetia Williams trained Cool Cascade from Hereford, with the last two prizes going to David Pipe’s yard in Somerset and Keith Goldworthy’s stables in Pembrokeshire. Pipe’s win propelled him to the top of the closely fought trainer’s table for the first time and left him clear of Richard Phillips by 7 points, which is less than one win ahead.

The majority of horses are finishing tired in these very wet conditions and field sizes are diminished as trainers are looking for better ground for their summer jumpers.

David Pipe’s aptly named Decoy had the field on the stretch in the feature handicap hurdle and Claines trained Stage Acclaim could only stay on for second place.
Richard Newland had better luck at Uttoxeter with Changing the Guard who came in by 26 lengths following a 71 day break, and continuing his run of good form, Bobowen won the Handicap Chase at Market Rasen by 12 lengths on Sunday.

As Ireland is the home of many jockeys currently riding on the circuit and indeed many of the horses in training originate from the Emerald Isle, it is fitting that Worcester celebrates the annual Irish race night tomorrow evening. Local band, The Roving Crows will entertain all in the County enclosure throughout the evening and the first race is due off at 6.10pm, with gates opening from 4.10pm.