Winter kings assemble their troops

Autumn brings a changing of the guard in the Jumps game, where winter horses brought in from their summer holidays in July make their first appearances of the season as October breaks and the leaves turn golden brown. Generally, it’s a time when the bigger yards begin to assert with fresh, higher-rated horses raising the quality of racing overall, and with the advent of some big Saturday cards.

There were just some early signs of this changing of the seasons at Stratford on Monday afternoon, although still subdued. Winners for Dan Skelton (just 93 runners in the 4 months June – September) and Emma Lavelle (30 in the corresponding period) tell a story of the emerging chrysalis of a season springing falteringly into life.

If truth be told, this may not have been Stratford’s most memorable raceday with an aggregate 57 lengths separating first and second in each of the seven races. More runners than has been our habit indicated an encouraging sign of a growing horse population as summer jumper coincides with winter debutant, the first group by now well exposed, the second either re-awakened, or appearing for the first time. With just two further fixtures to run here, we’ve not long to see a horses that might be touted for the big Saturday races over the coming months.

One possibility however is Dream In The Park, a five year old from Emma Lavelle’s Ogbourne Maisey academy, who put a string of bridesmaid positions behind him with a 2 1/4l victory in a modest handicap hurdle over 2m 2f. Idling in front, he looks as if the win may teach him something, and his rating of 108 is probably an underestimation. A comfortable winner for Lavelle, her eighth of a slow-starting season, and 17th for rider Tom Bellamy.

Dream In The Park and Tom Bellamy win at Stratford. 3/10/2022 Pic Steve Davies

Alex Hales is another trainer not much given to volume entries in summer races, but his Jack Thunder made a winning debut over fences in the Re-Gen Waste Management Novices Handicap, beating favourite and persistent challenger Time To Bite1 3/4l under Harry Bannister, the second leg of a double for the rider. Hales is one of three trainers breathing new life into the famous gallops at Edgcote, where chasers of the standing of Spanish Steps were trained for the Whitbread family in a previous generation. That renewed racing association has also translated into a vibrant Point-to-Point racecourse, which is well worth a visit.

Not so long ago, Dan Skelton was a standing dish at Stratford, helping his younger brother to a first Jockeys’ Championship. The emphasis now is on higher quality horses for the core October-April season, and Skelton Snr is languishing in tenth position in the Trainers’ Championship with under £200,000 in winning prize money. Few can doubt that will change as the season gets into its stride, but it’s to our chagrin that this was Skelton’s first winner this summer at Stratford from just 9 runners. As our local big trainer, we must hope to see plenty more before the season closes on October 27th.

Meantime, juvenile Medyaf produced what may be his most facile winner of the term in a 7 runner hurdle, beating Oneforthegutter 35l after Le Breille tipped up at the last. It certainly wasn’t a fait accompli that Medyaf would have prevailed over the Richard Bandey – trained Le Breille, and there’ll surely be another race for him too.

Richard Bandey enjoyed better luck 30 minutes later when Master Dancer made a winning debut under Harry Bannister in the 2m novices’ hurdle. The French-bred came from Emanuel Clayeux in France, so has impeccable credentials. The second, Donaire, kept on well under Sam Twiston-Davies.

Twiston-Davies, Snr and Jnr had better luck in the middle distance handicap hurdle an hour later when Ballintubber Boy made all to win by 11l, the distance flattered by a last fence fall by Dynamic Kate. This son of Robin des Champs looks ripe for a chasing career although his 3 from 6 over hurdles means he’s no slouch over the smaller obstacles.

Ballintubber Boy and Sam Twiston-Davies win at Stratford. 3/10/2022 Pic Steve Davies

The day began with the arrival of the Shetland Bus, named after the clandestine ferry service of spies from the Shetlands to Nazi – occupied Norway in the Second World War. Under Luke Scott, Richard Newland’s German-bred stayer proved a good advertisement for the stamina of German bred horses on a weekend when Torquator Tasso was highlighting what the German bloodstock business does best at Longchamp, securing first place readily in the staying conditional riders’ chase. That the two races are separated somewhat in quality and value is immaterial. It’s a constant surprise that there are not more German-bred horses appearing in our Jumps races from a country where sprinters are virtually unknown.

If, as seems probable, Torquator Tasso heads for stud, Jump fans may hope his progeny enjoy the same level of dual success as Overton Stud’s Kayf Tara, recently retired. Four year old Kayf Legend, one of his last generations to appear, made a competent 4l winning debut in the closing bumper.

A lesson from Down Under: the All-Star Mile

Racing is in a fairly healthy position in the UK right now, particularly given the challenges of running a sport without spectators for large chunks of the last couple of years. Even allowing for a spate of small fields exacerbated by the low rainfall over the past few months, the sport retains a broad appeal across over 1,400 fixtures each year. But last month, the Racing Post launched a series of special reports under the banner, How Can Racing Broaden Its Appeal? And one of the key takeaways from the series of articles was that “Getting people involved is a major challenge for the sport.”

Of course, we have been here before. Each time there is a momentous performance on television – say, Rachael Blackmore’s heroics at Cheltenham and the Grand National – analysts talk about how it can drive engagement and appeal. Of course, it’s all well and good when saying these things after the Festival or Royal Ascot, but does it encourage people to attend the racing on a cold December night at Chelmsford? Or Stratford, for that matter, on the infrequent occasions when the sun is not warming our backs?

All-Star Mile has driven fan engagement

But there are ideas from outside the box that can drive fan engagement. An example is the All-Star Mile, which had its inaugural running in 2019 at Flemington Racecourse, the iconic home of Australian racing. If you aren’t familiar with the All-Star Mile, the main thing to know is that participation is largely decided by racing fans. To be exact, ten places in the races are allotted to horses who are voted in by fans. Five wild cards make up the rest of field. Of course, a bumper purse is offered to ensure owners are persuaded to let their horses run.

Zaaki, winner of the All-Star Mile 2022. Photo via https://twitter.com/allstarmile/status/1505047224132472834/photo/1

Now, if you really know your international racing, you might be aware that the Aussies nicked this idea from the Japanese. The fan-voted Arima Kinen race has been operating in Japan in some form or another since 1956. But the reason we chose the Australian version is that it shows how a good idea can ferment into popular culture quite quickly. Indeed, we would argue that the All-Star Mile has become a more engaging spectacle than The Everest, which was created in 2017 and is now the world’s richest turf race.

Perhaps our point is that the All-Star Mile is an example of where ingenuity trumps money. The Everest is a brilliant event, and it attracts some of the best sprinters in racing who look for a share of the £10million+ purse.

Race is rotated around Victoria

But the All-Star Mile attracts the casual fan, and one way it does this is through astute use of social media campaigning. The campaign reaches out to casual fans and potential fans, encouraging them to feel like they have a stake in the event. Indeed, before the 2022 race, TAB (Australia’s version of the Tote) ran a competition where one voter could become an “ambassador owner” of one of the horses selected for the race.

Another thing we like about the All-Star Mile is the fact it rotates. We mentioned Flemington earlier, but it will also go to Victoria’s other great venues, Moonee Valley and Caulfield. If such a principle was applied to the UK, there is no end of worthy venues that could host fan-voted races, including, of course, Stratford Racecourse. Imagine a concept like this through the Summer Jumps calendar at Stratford, Worcester, Perth and Newton Abbot.

Now, none of this is to say that UK racing should simply borrow the idea from the Australians (and Japanese), but it is the kind of concept that could yield dividends. One of the barriers to engagement with horse racing is the feeling that it is remote, particularly for those from urban areas. Campaigns like the All-Star Mile tear down those barriers through digital access on social media. The connection is there between fans and the selections in the race.

Something to think about.

Exciting autumn brings additional momentum to the sport

As the flat season comes to an end after this weekend’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, attention has already started to switch over to the winter jumps season. And for all that we love staging fixtures in the bright sunshine and warmth of high summer, even at Stratford, we recognize that the core Jumps season begins at the start of October, with the season opener at Chepstow racecourse on Friday, October 8, just four days after our first of three fixtures that month.


Stratford’s campaign straddles three seasons, but a week after Chepstow, our own autumn effort will come on Saturday, October 16, hopefully attracting some big name trainers and jockeys to accelerate the autumn season in style. It’s a fixture where summer successes meet autumn debutantes to see whether racecourse experience can trump higher quality breeding.


When autumn gets underway, there will be a lot of action on for jump racing fans to keep up with, and seasoned veterans of the sport will know what they are looking out for. However, if you are new to jump racing, you may want to try and pick up as much horse racing knowledge as possible ahead of the new season. This could include combining some other gambling-oriented hobbies with horse racing. If you like to play casino games, then there are many horse racing themed casino games available. These include Scudamore’s Super Stakes, a game available on many sites and with £5 deposit casinos, you can deposit a small amount.


With the additional knowledge you gain, you should be able to really enjoy the upcoming season.



What are the big events this autumn and winter?

Away from Stratford racecourse, there are a number of big events that you cannot miss this season – the highlights of jump racing where the biggest names from the sport all come together. The biggest week of them all is without a doubt the Cheltenham Festival, which is set to run on March 15-18, 2022. These four days see a tussle between the best from Great Britain and the best from Ireland, with 28 races and many huge prizes to be won. And British trainers will be keen to exorcize the ghost of 2021, when they received a fearful drubbing.

Ahead of the festival, as is traditionally the case, Stratford will race on March 14, the ideal place to be if you want to get yourself ready for the Cheltenham Festival. As an appetizer to the main dish, it’s also a fixture where jockeys are trying to remain in one piece, whilst spectators chew over the prospects for the morrow’s Supreme Novices Hurdle.

A month later, if we are talking about individual races then there is no bigger than the Randox Grand National at Aintree, which next year will be run on Saturday, April 9. This is a race that is watched by millions, including many who don’t usually watch horse racing, or keep up with the sport in any way.

The National is one of the biggest sporting traditions that we have in the UK, and will no doubt once again attract plenty of attention. History was made in 2021, when Rachel Blackmore (pictured beneath) became the first female jockey to win the race and given her rise to stardom in the sport, you would be foolish to write her off winning another. It’s great news to see her back after her recent injury. We’re unlikely to see her here in the UK until March though.

These are the two biggest events to look out for, but there are many more as the season progresses. Look out for the November meeting at Cheltenham, the biggest early-season meeting of the autumn. Christmas is another busy time, with the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, followed by the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow a day later. In reality, every weekend brings another great race to savour up and down the land.

Don’t ignore the grass roots of the sport

The counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and up and down the Severn Valley are a heartland for the sport, housing horses galore for every level of racing.

And whilst the recent National Racehorse Week has focused on the professional ranks of the sport at the country’s 60 racecourses, the strength of that support is fed by a hugely enthusiastic and practised amateur division at Point-to-Point level. Adapting to current trends, the Pointing season, which concludes at Stratford each May with the country’s most valuable set of hunter chases, this season will begin in late October. Venues like Chaddesley Corbett, Mollington and Barbury Castle allow budding horsemen and trainers to learn the craft or race -riding and training without the bright lights of television coverage. Any newcomer should experience this branch of the sport to see the champions of tomorrow. For local fixtures, follow Pointing West Mercian.


With all of this to look forward to, the new autumn jumps season looks set to be another exciting one. But don’t overlook us just yet… We’ve meetings of our own on October 4th, 16th as previously mentioned and 28th for our autumn swansong.

Caramelized provides topping to a regal weekend for King

We’ve not yet reached September, but it’s clear from Monday’s results that the established leaders of the National Hunt game are flexing their muscles in preparation for the autumn. Four of the sport’s market leaders put their marker down on the winner’s enclosure in statements of intent for the easing of the ground when better quality horses will make the competition yet stiffer.

The Skelton team has been noticeably quiet this summer in comparison to last summer, but opened their account for the day with just their 16th winner since the season began, and the third of Stratford’s season. Cast your mind back to the final 8 weeks of the season, when Harry Skelton and Brian Hughes were head to head in consecutive Stratford fixtures with doubles and trebles to see the difference in tactics this time around. Brian Hughes leads his rival by nearly 30 winners at this juncture.

Percy’s Word, beaten a neck in his last outing at Uttoxeter, finally broke his maiden in the opening Join RacingTV Now Maiden Hurdle, joining issue with the leaders between horses as they approached the final obstacle and forging clear to justify his even money favouritism.

The next few months are always a timer to identify newcomers to the sport in the form of flat recruits searching for a place in the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Fresh from saddling Asymmetric in the Prix Morny at Deauville on Sunday, Alan King produced an early contender in the form of Caramelised, a son of Dansili, who fairly trotted up in the second division of the RacingTV.com Juvenile Hurdle, winning with a penalty by 19l. Alan told Racing UK, He’s not a good work horse; he shows nothing at home, but we’ll have to take him more seriously now!”

Meanwhile, another yard that excels in autumn races accentuated its well-being when Goa Lil broke his chasing duck at the fifth attempt in the 2m 5f Novices Handicap. Owned by the trainer after having been sold on by Isaac Suede and Simon Munir in the Spring, Goa Lil was last of the leading group of five turning into the straight, but showed good speed under strong driving from Sam Twiston-Davies to win by 1 1/4l in the end. “Hopefully that’ll get him sold,” remarked the rider afterwards. Expect Goa Lil to make the most of the yard’s autumn. Whilst there are only 7 winners on the board, autumn has traditionally been harvest time for the Naunton yard.

Goa Lil [Sam Twiston-Davies] centre and winner jumps the last with Fat Sam [left] and Royal Ruby [right] before winning at Stratford. 23/8/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Another mainstream yard rarely seen out over the summer is Oliver Sherwood’s Rhonehurst yard. Indeed, bumper winner Puffin Bay was their only runner in August, and may make for a 100% record with less than a week to go till September, winning ears pricked from a fast-finishing Shantou Champagne for the Bowen team.

Rider Sean Bowen had previously been successful in the Dr Roberts 50th Birthday Handicap Hurdle on Wbee, enjoying a third hurdle victory at Stratford in five months for Gary Hanmer. Indeed, Hanmer clearly has a liking for Stratford, with 8 winners here, second only to his local course at Bangor. This relatively new outfit is making a name for itself around the smaller venues on the promise of something bigger to come.

The runners are flagged around the fences in the straight due to the low sun. Wbee [in rear] tracks the leaders before a fourth consecutive victory. 23/8/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Justin Landy’s is another small yard finding success through a couple of good horses, with the likes of Shetland Bus enjoying consistent success for the yard, now joined by eight year old Captain Cobajay, a modestly rated horse who has nevertheless been well placed to win consecutive handicap chases before the handicapper anchors him. This second victory a week after the first, in the RacingTV Profits Returned To Racing Handicap Chase shows a good return for a horse from a switch of stable in early August, so fitness clearly wasn’t the issue.

The small yard of Jake Thomas Coulson took the other handicap chase over 2m3f with a pillar to post run from Chipati under Fergus Gregory. There was plenty to like about the way this dour grey stuck his neck out to outrun Air Hair Lair and This Breac, just when those tracking the leader might have considered he’d shot his bolt.

Chapati and Fergus Gregory [grey horse] leads all the way to victory at Stratford. 23/8/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Our final winner was in the first division of the Juvenile Hurdle won by Caramelised. The less well known Sheena West, trainer of Air Hair Lair in the aforementioned handicap chase, enjoyed a successful trip to Stratford when Fred Bear outran a Skelton horse in Scots Gold. Rather like Caramelised, Fred Bear led from start to finish, and whilst finished leg-weary, which precipitated a mistake at the last, none of the others were able to get on terms and the field was strung out across Warwickshire at the line.

Rookie Whillans doubles up

Rookie trainer Ewen Whillans made the long trip from the Scottish borders worthwhile yesterday as Cracking Destiny asserted around the final turn to win the feature Brian and Sheila Vaughan Memorial Handicap Chase under Callum Bewley, and for good measure followed up in the bumper with Scot’s Poet.

Long time leader Mercian Prince looked to have come to the end of his effort after the second last as rivals Courtandbould, Yccs Portocervo and Cracking Destiny bunched up behind. Bewley got the best run on the outer of the leader to run to the last and always had the measure of the Twiston-Davies’ -ridden Yccs Portocervo – a commentator’s nightmare – on the run to the line.

Cracking Destiny and Callum Bewley [right] jumps the last with Yccs Portocervo before winning at Stratford. 19/8/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Scot’s Poet, also ridden by Callum Bewley, prevailed by showing good late speed in a final two furlongs with plenty of bumping and boring in one of the better-supported bumpers of the summer to date.

Whillans, taking over the licence from father Alistair, is in the rare position of achieving a 100% record from his two runners to date, having held a licence only since Wednesday. Not often a starter sets out with two trips to The Winners Enclosure with his first two runners!

Ewan Whillans after completing a Stratford double with Scots Poet. 19/8/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Runner-up Sam Twiston-Davies, whose perseverance on Yccs Portocervo made for such an exciting finish in the feature, came good himself a little over an hour later when Lawtop Legend won the National Racehorse Week 12-19th September Handicap Chase over 3m 3f, continuing the great strike rate of Richard Newland and his first jockey. With 55 win and placed horses from 82 runners, the pair boasts a 67% return on horses running from the yard; small wonder Newland is attracting owners a-plenty.

Jockey Page Fuller enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the two novice chases, winning the Sd Photography Novices Handicap comprehensively for Marlborough handler David Weston, but losing her chance when her mount Some Day Soon blundered two out in the Avon Novices Chase later in the card. It was the recovery of the day as she was shot up the neck of her horse and clung on to retrieve a third place for retained trainer Jamie Snowden.

Weston has an admirable record from a small band of horses at his base in East Kennett, this being his fourth winner from just 10 runners, something of a contrast to Donald McCain and Brian Hughes, eventual winners of the 2m5f Novices event with Presentandcounting, enjoying a fifth win this year already.

Another trainer with admirable stats is Devon – based Claire Hitch, who produced another talented youngster in Every Breakin Wave, who followed up his July victory at Newton Abbot with a 1/2l win in the Claire Boskett 30th Birthday Novices Hurdle. Claire cut her teeth on the Point-to-Point circuit; just another example of how the grass roots of the sport has merged indiscernibly with the lower ranks of the professional game.

Ben Pauling is one of many mainstream trainers who have largely reverted to type after adopting the summer game wholeheartedly after the enforced break of 2020. His August runners are a shadow of the effort from last year, but Serjeant Painter, formerly with Marcus Tregoning, was determined enough to make amends for this, staying on well to win the opening Stratford Racing Club Novices Handicap Hurdle by 1 3/4l from Jakamani, representing Mark Bradstock. Pauling’s six winners this season to date have reassuringly been from six individual horses which speaks of more to come.

Pritchard completes hat-trick with Franz Klammer

Franz Klammer is rejuvenating the fortunes of Whatcote trainer Peter Pritchard, completing a hat-trick in the Erin, Anya & Joe Brewer Handicap Chase yesterday at Stratford. The nine year old won going away after a tussle between the second last and one hundred yards from the post when the match was settled. Despite a 20lb hike in the weights, he appears at his best around his local course, and who is to say he may not run up a fourth? For a stable livinbg in a winner drought these past five years, it must seem like a trip to the Promised Land.

Franz Klammer and Alexander Thorne [yellow colours] leads the field all the way for another victory at Stratford for trainer Peter Pritchard. 29/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Third – placed for trainer Gary Brown is worth following next time around at this level. He was running on like a train, and only missed the runner-up slot by a neck.

Alan King has become a man for the big occasion with his Flat team, picking off big winners regularly, the most recent of which has been a Glorious Goodwood double with Trueshan in the Goodwood Cup and Asymmetric in the Group II Richmond Stakes. However, the man who started out over the sticks hasn’t eschewed the Jumps game by any means and flat recruit Caramelized fairly bolted up in the Join Stratford Racing Club Juvenile Maiden Hurdle. The ex-Hannon three year old asserted quite readily in the straight to win by 7l with plenty in hand. It might seem fanciful to talk of the Triumph still 8 months hence, but there are certainly plenty more races to win with this youngster.

The most valuable race of the day saw 5 novice chasers draw swords in the SAige Fencing Novices Chase. Turning in, it looked a straight fight between Jamie Snowden’s Some Day Soon and Rebecca Curtis’ Welsh raider Ruthless Article. Page Fuller had pushed Some Day Soon into a 2l lead at the last before Ruthless Article crumpled on landing, and ran on to put 17l between him and eventual runner-up Forecast. Fuller’s 6th winner of the season cements her partnership with Snowden who provides the lion’s share of her rides.

Jamie Snowden doubled up in the concluding National Racehorse Week 12-19th September Novices Hurdle with Guinness Affair under Gavin Sheehan, denying Fergal O’Brien’s Our Colossus, and precipitating a rare winnerless day for the Ravenswell team.

The We Are IDP Mares Handicap Hurdle saw the finish of the day and an example of two of our top riders at their most forceful. Tom Scudamore and Brian Hughes are near perfect exponents of their craft, and a driving finish from both on respective mounts Lady Reset for David Pipe and See The Sea for Donald McCain was only decided yards from the post, when Scudamore gained a head advantage. It really was not a race for those with weak hearts!

Time was when the Pipe yard under Martin’s leadership would farm the summer races, but nowadays, David is more focused on quality runners rather than the quantity that created the Pipe reputation.

Lady Reset and Tom Scudamore [left] just beats See The Sea at Stratford. 29/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Another of our top riders, Nico de Boinville, also had to be at his most persistent as French-bred Tel’Art scored a third win over the smaller obstacles for Ben Pauling in the longer 3m 2f handicap hurdle. It was Hughes who lost out again by 1/2l in second place despite a strong challenge from Oscar Montel, trained 15 miles further east along the Cotswolds from Pauling, by Charlie Longsdon.

Tel’Art and Nico De Boinville beats Oscar Montel at Stratford. 29/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

Devon – based Chris Down notched his second winner of this term in the opening handicap chase with Fat Sam, whose previous form figures of 54F gave no immediate indication of latent talent pressing to show itself. Bookmakers were rubbing their hands as the 25/1 shot took up the running turning into the straight, and maintained his advantage to the line under James Davies. Small stables like these, operating on a wing and a prayer, are, in reality, the bedrock of this sport.

Laura Morgan’s Leicestershire stable is another small yard but one with a strike rate right up there with the best. At 24%, her runners are a force to be reckoned with, but even she might acknowledge Beautiful Ben was a lucky winner of the other remaining chase, over 2m 3f, after Tom Gretton’s Bagan unseated at the last. The two had picked up the lead going into the home turn, with the rest of the field going nowhere, and Bagan was arguably going the better before stumbling on landing and sending Robbie Dunne out of the side door. Take nothing however from the winner, picking up his eighth career victory.

Phew, what a scorcher! Hatcher and Wbee hat-trick kings at Stratford on Ladies Day

The finalists for the Ladies Day line up at Stratford. 18/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

On the hottest day of the year so far, which drew the biggest crowd to Stratford for nearly 2 years to enjoy Ladies Day, the Skelton brothers landed the feature race at Stratford yesterday with a horse on a hat-trick. Hatcher, winner of 14 of his 33 starts, appears to have a real penchant for our course, this being his fifth course victory, but his first as a chaser.

Always handy, there was never really any doubt about the winner. From entering the final bend, Skelton Jnr was sitting motionless whilst rivals Tikkinthebox and Scardura scrubbed away. Before the last, Scardura dropped away rapidly whilst Us And Them, an Irish raider, ran on doggedly for third.

The Skelton team has been more slowly away this summer, this being only their 69th runner (!) Nevertheless, the 14 winners to date have already amassed nearly £125,000 in prize money, an indication in itself of the quality of horses in the yard when the value of a majority of summer prizes is so pedestrian by comparison with the winter and spring months. These summer fixtures are by way of an aperitif for many of the bigger yards.

Hatcher and Harry Skelton jump the last to win at Stratford. 18/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

The legendary leading owner, J P McManus, with hundreds of horses in training on both sides of the Irish Sea, has enjoyed over 350 winners over the past 5 years in the UK alone, yet French-bred Demon d’Aunou was his first winner of this term from just 10 runners overall. The Jonjo O’Neill – trained 8 year old was enjoying his first handicap win since winning his novice at Cartmel nearly 12 months ago. Going second two out, Jonjo Jnr rode him into the lead approaching the last to win comfortably by 8 1/2/.

McManus also has horses with Nicky Henderson, but it was owner-breeder Rita Brown who enjoyed the debut chase win of Royal Ruby in the LWK MS Group 50th Anniversary Novices Handicap Chase to complete the chase programme. 29 summer winners have set an awesome 28% strike rate to maintain when the more competitive autumn races accelerate. Rider Nico de Boinville set out to make this a test by leading from the off, and aside from briefly losing an iron at the sixth, was never troubled to win, asserting a winning margin of 9l.

Demon D’Aunou and Jonjo O’Neill jump the last to win at Stratford. 18/7/2021 Pic Steve Davies

The card opened with two handicap hurdles, the first of which, restricted to mares, went to a trainer rarely seen on the Jumps circuit. Upper Lambourn’s Mark Usher, whose Jumps runner have only once exceeded 20 in any of the past 10 seasons, is enjoying a 33% strike rate this term, enhanced by the efforts of Dylan’s Sea Song, winning a second handicap under Harry Bannister, despite running a little wayward on the run to the last. At this level, there are more races in her for sure.

To follow, in the Peter Allsopp from Bell Green Coventry Memorial Hurdle, hat-trick seeker Wbee duly obliged for Gary Hanmer, with Sean Bowen in the saddle in place of Bryan Carver, injured at Newton Abbot recently. Most trainers would give their eye teeth for performers of Wbee’s nature; since the turn of the year, the 6 year old son of Yeats has run six times, won 3 and been beaten less than 14l across his other 3 placed efforts.

Amateur Ben Bromley has been steeped in the sport all his life. With a father running a highly successful bloodstock business, he has all the connections, but you’ve still got to rise to the occasion. Working close to home for Mel and Phil Rowley, Bromley Jnr has ridden for 8 yards already this summer, outside the Point-to-Point circuit, including Nicholls, Henderson and Denise Foster.

This time around it was champion trainer Paul Nicholls who supplied the ammunition to enable a fourth career victory for the young rider, completing a hat-trick of wins on this novice hurdler in the Terry O’s 60th Birthday Novices Hurdle. The young Bromley is certainly beginning to look the finished article, and lacked nothing in tactical nous and polish in a finish.

Lady Excalibur showed a good turn of foot to win the concluding bumper on her debut appearance for Alan Jones and rider Tom O’Brien.

Stratford specialists the Skeltons to lead the fightback against Irish dominance at racing’s top table

According to the extensive database collected by Timeform, no duo in horse racing is quite as effective at Stratford as Dan and Harry Skelton.

Dan, the elder of the brothers, has trained 35 winners from his 167 runners at the course according to the stats – nearly double that of his nearest rival. Incredibly, more than one in three Skelton entries either wins or is placed at Stratford. We should mention his younger sibling Harry too. He has ridden 31 winners in the same timeframe – a success rate of 25%, with 38% of his rides at the track ending in victory or at least a place.

He claimed the Champion Jockey crown in 2021, landing 152 winners in a prolific campaign, and the hope for British racing fans is that the Skeltons can spearhead a return to the glory days for domestic runners at the Cheltenham Festival.

At the most recent edition of the flagship meeting, just four of the 28 races were won by a British horse. The Irish, on the other hand, claimed 23 victories.

There are plenty of different explanations as to why that might be, with the Irish bred and trained purposefully for the big meetings at Cheltenham, Punchestown, and the like. Meanwhile, some British trainers and owners prefer to focus on the nitty-gritty of the National Hunt campaign.

Either way, take Nicky Henderson’s haul out of the roll call of winners and it really does make for dismal reading for the domestic entries.

Getting Closer

The Skeltons have some excellent horses at their disposal, and a couple got close at the 2021 Festival.

Roksana was third in the Close Brothers’ Mares Hurdle, and ran superbly at Aintree a few weeks later to finish second in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Aintree. Available at 10/1 in the Cheltenham Stayers’ Hurdle odds for 2022 here at Space Casino, she could bring the Skeltons a rare success at the Festival.

But for a stumble late on, they could have been celebrating a win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Their Spanish horse, Nube Negra, ran superbly well in the two-mile outing, and stayed on despite a fumble to finish just half a length behind the winner, Put the Kettle On.

The seven-year-old still has room for development, and victory in the Desert Orchid Chase – defeating Altior by three lengths in the process – was an outstanding effort.

Elle Est Belle secured another place for the Skeltons in the Champion Bumper back in March. The five-year-old is already a course winner, and produced an excellent effort to finish behind the more experienced Sir Gerhard and Kilcruit at the Festival. With another year of action under her saddle, Elle Est Belle could be another profitable campaigner at Cheltenham for the duo.

Other contenders will emerge as well, you suspect, with the likes of Langer Dan also promising a bright future. For the prosperity of British racing, the hope is that the Skeltons will lead a Warwickshire fightback against Irish racing dominance – starting with the Cheltenham Festival in 2022.

First time visitor to Stratford? Here’s your startpoint

Otherwise known as the Stratford-on-Avon Racecourse, Stratford is one of the most well-known racecourses in the UK. Located in the county of Warwickshire, its specialty is thoroughbred Jump racing and it holds around 19 meetings throughout the year from March to November. More casual than Ascot or Epsom, it is popular with serious racing fans, and those just looking for a nice day trip. The course is also a bit smaller than some of the others but it has a total of three enclosures including the Centre course, Tattersalls Enclosure, and the Club enclosure. Guests can also camp on site as it hosts the Stratford Touring Park which is great for caravans, mobile motorhomes, and up to 192 tents.

In addition to horseracing, the venue is also used for events like product launches and parties, and several set-piece public events like the Adventure Overland Show. But what else do you need to know about visiting Stratford Racecourse and Stratford-upon-Avon at large?

Going racing

The first thing to note about going racing in the post-pandemic scene is that you must book in advance. Click here to purchase. It may not always be this way, but for the time being, we’re all keeping safe, and usually there are cost savings to buying early.

Parking in the public car park is free. You can also take a taxi to the racecourse and there are regular pick-ups afterwards. The station is a good 25mn walk.

The paddock is a central focus around which to study the horses and espy your fancy. Like a lot of courses appealing to a local audience, it’s always a good idea to follow local stables. Dan Skelton, Olly Murphy and Richard Newland are always to be respected, whilst Fergal O’Brien, Nigel Twiston-Davies and Jonjo O’Neill often send well-fancied runners here.

One of our younger racegoers made this You Tube clip in 2019

One of the more obvious things to do at Stratford Racecourse is to bet on the races that are taking place! There are two ways to go about this; online betting, or betting with a bookie. As it’s 2021, the most popular form of betting these days takes place online. From the convenience of a smartphone or tablet, punters prefer to bet on the races and benefit from a range of different bonuses, odds, and incentives. These bonuses can include additional prizes, bet matching, or even additional spins on games that aren’t racing-related. For those who are new to horse race betting and online gambling, it’s possible to follow a step-by-step article to help you compare the bonuses on offer as well as additional features.

Once you’ve figured out how you will bet, all that remains is getting your race day outfit sorted, finding someone to go with, and enjoying yourself with all the excitement that comes with this kind of events! Ladies Day each

Racing is great for people watching though. Sometimes, you can have as much entertainment watching others as the horses! Of course there’s time enough for both in an afternoon’s racing.

We always recommend you watch at least one steeplechase from the rail by an obstacle. The thunder of hooves, the breathing of horses at full gallop, shouting from the riders and the crash of birch collide to make a thrilling experience close up.

About Stratford-on-Avon

The town of Stratford d is famous throughout the UK and world as the home of William Shakespeare. The renowned poet, playwright, and author was born here and as a result, almost 3 million people a year visit to pay homage. It’s also home to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and plenty of other sites in line with the Shakespeare theme, like Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. There are other theatres in the town as well as plenty of museums, an orchestral hall, and a number of stately homes nearby, like Charlecote, or Warwick Castle, where Richard Neville, the Kingmaker, manipulated politics in medieval England. The classic lines of palladian Ragley Hall are about 15mns drive away.

Shakespeare’s statue, surrounded by characters from his plays, adorns the gardens in front of the RSC

The town has a vibrant literature festival this year in July. But for most visitors, the river is an equally exciting attraction. Hire a rowing boat to amble up or down river and before you know it, you’re tempted to jump in!

Other fun things to do include visiting a medieval pub called The Garrick Inn, and going to the Campaign for Real Ale beer and cider festival which takes place in Stratford every year.

Where to stay

Of course, the smart money says you should stay at the Racecourse in either a tent, a mobile home, or caravan. If you don’t fancy that kind of adventure, there are plenty of other options. The Cotswolds, of which Stratford is a part, is home to a great number of stunning cottages, houses, and larger places that have been converted into accommodation. You can go full-out luxury in a spa hotel such as the Burnside Hotel, Broadway’s Lygon Arms, or try a quaint bed and breakfast such as the Quilt and Croissants. Stratford is chock-a-bloc with B & Bs.

Stratford is less than 20 miles from the centre of England, and its motorway links through the M40, M5 and M6 make it easily reachable from virtually anywhere. As a base for exploring the Cotswolds or central England, and taking in a day’s racing en route, it takes a lot of beating.

Gold lays down the law in the Foxhunter

Stratford’s largest crowd since March 2020, capped at 2,000, enjoyed an incident-packed evening of top flight hunter chases last night in which it felt at times as if the stewards had been tasked with ongoing training. Whereas on most days’ racing, their task is one of monitoring, there was much to keep them busy.

The highlight of the evening however, was the continued ascent toward the top rank by Law of Gold, trained by Norfolk farmer David Kemp, and ridden by Dale Peters in the evening’s feature event, the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter Chase. This 2019 winner of the point-to-point.co.uk Champion Novice Hunters Chase took the scalp of Bob and Co and Monbeg Chit Chat when taking up the running at the last in the back straight, and always had the race in hand from then on. The winner clearly appreciates Stratford and was able to dominate in a way that he could not in the bigger field and higher class opposition in the Cheltenham Foxhunter.

Law Of Gold jumps the last to win at Stratford. 28/5/2021 Pic Steve Davies

However, a new challenger could well appear in the form of Ulster-trained Vaucelet, who put the sword to Britain’s two top novices in Premier Magic and Fumet d’Oudairies in the point-to-point.co.uk Champion Novice Chase, also known as the John Corbett Cup. The Tom Ellis – trained Fumet d’Oudairies was sent off a warm favourite at 6/4, but Vaucelet took the lead going into the final turn. Jack Andrews on Fumet d’Oudairies got a better jump from his mount at the last allowing him to join level again, but the winner stayed on well to win by 2 3/4l.

Winning trainer David Christie, based in Fermanagh, wasn’t hanging about to celebrate. With runners at Pointing fixtures in Ireland today, he set off briskly to catch the night boat from Stranraer before the evening was finished. Tell that to anyone who thinks training racehorses is a feather-bedded profession! A mere 6 hour drive lay ahead.

Vaucelet and Mr B Harvey lead over the last to win at Stratford. 28/5/2021 Pic Steve Davies

There will be other days for the two English challengers however. The three leaders were a distance ahead of Captain McGinley in fourth, himself no slouch, having won an Intermediate Hunters chase at Cheltenham last month.

The opening event of the evening gave the stewards their first homework on a busy night in the Stewards’ Room. In the shortest race of the evening over the minimum trip, a tight finish was fought out by Sam Waley-Cohen on long time leader Capitaine and Chloe Emsley on Creative Inertia. Under forceful pressure from the experienced Waley-Cohen, Capitaine pulled out enough in the final 100 yards to win by a length. However, the rider weighed in 1 1/2lb light and after an objection by the Clerk of Scales, was disqualified.

Skinners Pet Foods have supported the Ladies Open Series for five years, and there’s a clear correlation between their audience and the Pointing set. It was a disappointment therefore to see just four declared to run in this £10,000 race, but a lack of opposition won’t trouble Tom Ellis, enjoying his 151st winner under Rules and between the flags with Deans Road, who landed this with ease, under Gina Andrews.

The West Country was in good voice after Keltus prevailed in the White Swan Hotel Handicap. Spectators could have been forgiven for thinking Little Mix were playing after racing for all the shrieking that met the return of the successful Jeremy Scott- trained winner. Just a neck separated the winner from second placed Zamparelli in the most exciting finish of the night. Any one of five horses could have won at the last, where Clondau Westie skewed and lost his rider, allowing Lucy Turner to gain an advantage. Charlie O’Shea gave Keltus some forceful driving to get back up close to the line, to allow Devon blood pressure to subside.

Leading owner Tim Underwood took all his horses out of training this year, citing that running with all the Covid protocols was simply no fun. So it was sporting of him to underwrite the Print Concern Restricted Series, whose final made up the penultimate race of this magical evening for the Point-to-Point community. Have no doubt of his appetite to be back at the head of affairs though when matters return to normal.

Meantime, the race itself produced another scintillating finish, in which Bradley Gibbs, who’d come to Stratford with a set of plum rides, might reasonably have thought his moment had finally come as he led into the last on David Brace’s Gats And Co. Rivals Tekap and The Bonny Boy though took him on on either side, and ran on the stronger in the final 150 yards. In their last meeting at Kingston Blount 3 weeks ago, The Bonny Boy went down by a neck to Tekap. This time the situation was reversed, again a neck separating the two.

Some bumping near the line in a hard-fought finish brought the bing-bong into play to allow the stewards to examine the race for interference, but they judged any scrimmaging not to have affected the result. One-all between these two game rivals. Anyone following this game would certainly want to see Round Three.

The evening was concluded by the third of the season’s Point-to-Point bumpers, following similar events at Aintree and Exeter. Punters used to backing the favourites in bumpers duly followed Tom Ellis’ Latenightfumble, but anyone who’d been at Chaddesley for the Worcestershire in mid-April will have recognized the steady development of winner Fountains Chief, for Theresa Clark and this 6 1/2l win wouldn’t have been a great surprise to her or rider Darren Andrews.

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