As a quick summary, here's what happened between Musselburgh finishing and York starting:
Tuesday 25th July - Tir Prince. Ace finished 4th of 4 in NWHOA 3YO fillies. Two accidents during course of the night, no serious injuries to drivers or horses (although the owner of one horse may question that statement in light of his vet bill). Winner of a later race disqualified for not being on correct mark, although allegations that starter called him on to the gate in the wrong position. Disqualification stood. Trainer sent two horses out on track in big race of the night with incorrect number cloths and head numbers. Stewards did not notice. Commentator led to believe that drivers had swapped horses. Advised not the case as race went off, was not happy and faced difficulty calling race until accident stopped the first running. Situation resolved for re-run. Results can be found on BHRC website.
Highlight: Grant Cullen's drive on No Brakes to finish second to an impressive Rhyds Rockstar in the NWHOA 3YO Colts & Geldings. Looked after the horse throughout the extended distance and kept something in the tank for coming home. This writer was very impressed.
Thursday 27th July - Corbiewood. I entertained a visitor from New Zealand. It rained, a lot. Dontstoptheparty became the fifth winner is as many legs of the Oakwood Stud Mares Pacing Series.
Highlight: Cassius Clay finished second in his novice race. An improvement.
Saturday 29th July - York. First race two horses were not given time to come up to the gate after the parade; start car went without them. Starter did not activate lights; commentator did not know if the race was going or a false start. Confusion ensued. Start car driver acted as though race was going, drivers in race continued without stragglers. The two drivers called in to stewards after race and fined. This writer felt that was a touch unfair, as both drivers young and inexperienced. Later in the day an experienced driver did the same thing, albeit it would appear purposefully: no action taken. One accident which resulted in a horse crashing through the outside rail. No injuries to horse or driver, although Mick [Welling]'s blood pressure probably rose a bit when he saw the damage. Not sure if the public liability insurance the drivers must take out with the BHRC covers this sort of damage. Driver on driver not covered, but driver on track owner's property? Doubtful. Results can be found on BHRC website.
Highlight: Greentree Serenity's 1.58 performance to lead from pillar to post. Now proven to be a speed and stamina mare. Coalford Chief finishing second after a monster run off his trail. A delight to watch.
Monday 31st July & Tuesday 1st August - Breeders Crown @ Tir Prince. Wasn't there due to work commitments, found the timing of the event to be very difficult to attend for those in full time employment. Haven't heard much in terms of reporting from the event, saw two races on Facebook Live by accident. Smarty didn't really provide much feedback upon his return. Results can be found on BHRC website.
Thursday 3rd August - Corbiewood. Members of public caused no start in one race when (correctly) objecting to gate positions as car took runners to the start. Rectified for re-run. Connections of horses not happy with the speed the car was being driven at. Delays caused by stewards enquiries and faulty equipment in later race, then false start caused by our horse Cassius Clay due to extended time parading. Accident during the race which resulted in a driver being knocked unconscious (or so I believe - he doesn't remember) on final lap. Loose horse ran 6, perhaps 7 laps, with members of the public keeping it away from injured driver still on the track. Multiple failed attempts at catching loose horse. Start car used to pin horse against a hedge using outside half of gate, against horse owner's wishes. Fortunate not to result in an equine fatality. Start car damaged. Delays forced last race to be run in darkness, with start car using headlights. One horse withdrawn on safety grounds. Results can be found on BHRC website.
Highlight: Starzapan winning the sixth leg of the mares series to become the only multiple winner. An emotional victory as regular driver Stuart was injured in the race before and cousin Tam took the drive. Cassius Clay finishing second once again in his novice race. An improvement.
Plenty of racing, as you can see.
#eventful
If I didn't restrict it to the above, we'd find ourselves going over a lot of things which, quite frankly, are probably better left alone. Don't get me wrong, there was some good racing interspersed between all of the seemingly negative things I've highlighted. But every now and again we need a dose of reality and I have to hold my hands up and say 'not all is well in the world'. Apologies if promoters or track owners or individuals who thought they would get a positive mention feel they have been a bit hard done by. But I wasn't overly inspired at any of the fixtures I attended. That's what happens after major handicap festivals.
LET'S MOVE ON.
Something I was sincerely looking forward to was the two day charity fixture at York Harness Raceway. The event was named after Blossom Kelly, and you can find more details about the charity set up in her name here.
For those of us who were in attendance, we were treated to
two days of top quality racing, with the Blossom Kelly Memorial Low Grade heats
and final on Saturday, along with maiden and novice events and heats for the
3YO Le Trot series; and the Blossom Kelly Memorial High Grade heats and final
on Sunday, along with maiden and novice events, the 3YO Le Trot Final and Le
Trot FFA races for the aged Trotteur Francais.
I gave a not-so-brief synopsis of both days on Facebook, and to save you trawling through my millions of status updates I'll copy and paste them below:
Saturday
[Saturday] was Ladies Day at Hamilton Racecourse but it was all about the girls at York Harness Raceway with 9 of the 11 races won by mares or fillies. The constantly improving and gutsy No Brakes and the enormous Katanya Mathematix were the only boys to record victories.
All three Le Trot 3YO heats were won by fillies who put in strong performances - Evoilala Star, Emma Star and the unbeaten Ecume De Mer. Four of the five Blossom Kelly Memorial heats were won by mares - the first going to the 2015 Junior Welsh Dragoness winner Rhyds Nightlife; the second going to the improving Camden Claire who has been knocking on the door in recent weeks and clearly relished the return to hard track racing; the fourth heat went the way of JMs Macy Hallstar with stablemate (and fellow mare) Tarawood Joy a strong-finishing runner up for the Cairns stable; and the fifth and final heat was won by Hurricane Pace Final winner Rhyds Passion. A mare close to my heart, Frisco Jenna, went one better than last week to give Jordan Heath his first driving win on UK soil in the novice pace.
In the final the two Rhyds mares were favourite and second favourite
and it was Rhyds Nightlife who led out and made all, coming home in a
super impressive 1.59.7. Connections were beside themselves at the half
and continued to jump up and down wildly for the latter part of the race
as the four-year-old daughter of The One Night Pan romped home under a
positive and confident drive from Alan Haythornthwaite. The trophy and
gorgeous rosette (courtesy of Karen Kennedy) now head back to Wales, along with the £4000 cheque! Llongyfarchiadau i chi!
[Saturday] was top class and a credit to all who organised the event, put up the prize money, contributed to a worthy cause and most importantly, those who took part to make a great spectacle. [Sunday] promises to be just as good!
[Saturday] was top class and a credit to all who organised the event, put up the prize money, contributed to a worthy cause and most importantly, those who took part to make a great spectacle. [Sunday] promises to be just as good!
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| Rhyds Nightlife winning the Blossom Kelly Memorial Low Grade Final |
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| Owner Dewi Lloyd-Davies & family |
Sunday
I knew this morning that we were in for a treat on day two of York's charity meeting but I never imagined just how AMAZING it would turn out to be. My face was literally aching at the end of the day from smiling so much in sheer delight at some tremendous equine performances throughout the course of proceedings.
My good friends at Millstream Stud kicked things off with Sun Gahn in the Silver Division FFA for aged Trotteur Francais over a mile and a half - the win softened the hangovers somewhat after a night of singing and dancing in the bar!! Sacha Of Carless returned to winning ways in the Gold Division FFA when making every post a winning post over the extended distance for driver Phil O'Neill. The four heats of the Blossom Kelly Memorial were staged over 1 1/4 miles, with Rockin Mambo taking the first heat unchallenged from the eternally game mare Red Emerald. The Irish raider and recent Musselburgh winner Rhyds Cobbler took the next in impressive fashion for Simon Duggan with Desert Secret finishing second. The third heat went to Scotland when Gordon Gilvear took up the running approaching the final bend with Master Plan who stayed on from Rhyds Rainbow, a mare beginning to show glimpses of her old form. The fourth and final heat was won in a new British record time when Evenwood Sonofagun streaked clear of Rhyds Boots and Coalford Chief who also broke the previous record.
Interestingly, the four heats were won by horses from four different nations: Rockin Mambo - Wales; Rhyds Cobbler - Ireland; Master Plan - Scotland; and Evenwood Sonofagun - England. The first four home in the final were also representing the four different nations: 1st Evenwood Sonofagun - England; 2nd Rhyds Boots - Ireland; 3rd Rockin Mambo - Wales; and 4th Master Plan - Scotland.
Tarawood Kiki won the maiden to give Andrew & Joanne Cairns yet another winner over the weekend, and Easy Company proved he is anything but when winning the novice by a wide margin, the official distance being given as a distance.
An early disqualification of the favourite Ecume De Mer allowed Emma Star to trot to victory in the £2000 Blossom Kelly Memorial 3YO Le Trot Final.
The richest handicap race ever to be staged on a hard track in the UK got a race worthy of its status with an unbelievably thrilling three-way finish in the Blossom Kelly Memorial High Grade Final with Evenwood Sonofagun coming out on top to bag the £6000 prize in a new British record over the extended distance. Runner up Rhyds Boots and third-placed Rockin Mambo lost nothing in defeat with solid performances to take it to the wire.
I have to say thank you to Mick Welling for staging such an event, and to everyone who worked behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. In my opinion the event was a success and was enjoyed by many and hopefully it can become an annual fixture in the calendar.
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| Evenwood Sonofagun winning the Blossom Kelly Memorial High Grade Final |
We were even treated to the presence of WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, who immersed
himself entirely in the occasion, from presenting the trophy to the final
winner to posing with members of the public for photos.
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| L-R: Main sponsor, Anthony Timmins, track owner Mick Welling, WBO Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders & racing manager, Craig Stevenson |
On Saturday night, Smarty and I hooked up my laptop to one
of the TV screens in the bar at the track and live streamed the racing from the
Hambletonion meeting at the Meadowlands for those who had hung around once the
racing at York had finished. The
atmosphere in the bar was fantastic and once the karaoke (courtesy of
Millstream Discos, aka Millstream Stud, aka Simon & Kirsty) began, things
just got a bit crazy. At one point I
looked around me and realised the main protagonists in all of the madness
happened to be Scottish #sorrynotsorry.
The most important thing was that we had fun. We let our hair down, we met new people, we
had a good time. And the best part was I
didn’t feel too bad the next day (although I can’t say the same for some of the
people who left when I did!).
Incidentally, and completely unconnected to the racing, Smarty and I
accidentally gatecrashed a transvestite and transsexual convention in
Harrogate. That’s the last time I let
him book us a hotel for the weekend (“I couldn’t believe it was so cheap – now
I know why!”). It was like Fawlty Towers
but with a lot of ill-fitting wigs and dated floral-patterned skirts. We were a bit hysterical when we got home and
found out it was an organised event at the hotel! We won't be staying there again...
Next meeting I shall be attending will be...unknown at this point. I'm taking a break from harness racing to focus on other aspects of my life, but I'll be back shortly with more news, views and borderline funny remarks to keep you all up to date!!
Over and out,
#1 Groom
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