Our next race day is our Proud to be Welsh Race Day this Sunday 5th March.
As it’s the first race day after St David’s Day we are proud to celebrate all that’s great about our country with plenty of great activities planed for the day, plus 7 exciting races.
Two award winning choirs, The Gwalia Singers from Swansea and The Phil Harmonics will be performing on the day before racing plus Harpist Mali Hire will also be playing for our guests in Bridles Restaurant. Well known Welsh presenter Deryc Rees in the parade ring with our regular race-day presenter Martin Higgs, Welsh crafts, beers and spirits will be on sale and the superb local band “Dros Dro” will be performing live in Blinkers Bar after racing. Tickets and hospitality in the Paddock Restaurant are still available.
Looking at last weekend’s racing, Saturday’s two biggest races both went to Wales.
The day’s most valuable prize, Kempton’s Coral Trophy, went to Our Power for Sam Thomas and the all-Welsh owners partnership of Dai Walters (former Ffos Las owner) and James and Jean Potter. He was ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies.
He’d finished third in this race last year, won at Ascot in the autumn on his only start this season. Mrs Thomas greeted Our Power in the winners’ enclosure, as Sam was at the rugby in Cardiff. He’s entered in the Ultima at Cheltenham and the Aintree Grand National.
At Newcastle Christian Williams (photographed) took the Eider Chase for the second year in a row. The four mile one furlong marathon went to Kitty’s Light, at 7/4 the shortest price favourite in that race since 1995. His backers couldn’t have been too confident most of the way, for his jumping wasn’t always perfect and he was on and off the bridle. But he has great stamina, and steadily made up ground in the finishing straight. He was driven ahead in the last hundred yards by Jack Tudor, who did well to stay on board with his saddle starting to slip. Kitty’s Light was second in the Scottish National in 2022, but Williams mentioned the Bet365 Chase at Sandown as this year’s end of season target.
Ben Jones, son of Ffos Las clerk of the course Dai Jones, rode the runner-up The Galloping Bear. The result might have been different if he hadn’t fluffed the last fence. At least Jones had the satisfaction of riding Endless Escape to victory earlier on the Newcastle card. It was the mare’s fourth consecutive novice hurdle win, all ridden by Jones. She has options at Cheltenham and at Fairyhouse in April, but she needs cut in the ground to be most effective.
There were three more Welsh successes at Chepstow.
Sean Bowen was a fortunate winner of the opening event, a 2m maiden hurdle. His mount, the odds-on Rambo T, seemed booked for second when the two-length leader fell at the final flight. Left well clear, he was able to stroll home 17 lengths and 23 ahead of the rest.
In the 2m handicap hurdle Bernard Llewellyn’s big grey Zambezi Fix won for the first time in three years. Frustratingly, he’d been a runner-up six times since joining the yard, so he was overdue a change of fortune. He cruised into contention approaching the second last and after a protracted duel he came out on top by a neck. Though his jockey Robert Williams doesn’t ride often nowadays he showed no signs of rustiness on this, just his ninth ride of the season and his first winner.
In the 2m4f chase Richard Patrick made nearly all the running on the Kerry Lee-trained Eaton Collina. Three out he was headed by another horse going much better, but Eaton Collina fought back and outstayed him to win by three lengths with 34 back to the pair’s toiling rivals.
At Hereford on Sunday Patrick won the bumper on Henry Daly’s Mikimoto, a four-year-old making his first racecourse appearance. It’s been Patrick’s best ever start to a calendar year, for these were his ninth and tenth winners of 2023
