Pat Cosgrave overcoming both a bad draw, from berth 17, and his horse missing the break with a spectacular ride to win the £2.7m Group 1 Caulfield Plateon Godolphin’s Best Solution trained by Saeed Bin Suroor
Silvestre de Sousa receiving his Champion Jockey award at Ascot and indicating that he’d be concentrating on the big meetings and races going forward
Teenage jockey Jason Watson riding his 100th winner of the year on Beverley Bullet at Redcar before picking up the Stobart Apprentice Jockey of the Year at Ascot’s Champions Day
Nigel Twiston-Davies landing a treble at Carlisle, with the trainer’s son Sam riding, including the promising Good Boy Bobby making his jumping debut and Al Dancer – in the latter’s race the fourth home, Lough Legend, was disqualified when the saddle slipped and jockey Danny Cook weighed-in 2lb light
Conditional jockey James Bowen, 17, reaching the top three of the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year – the award went to para-athlete Kare Adenergan
Richard Johnson riding his 100th winner of the season when Arty Campbell won at Hereford
STEWARDS ROOM
…and what hasn’t been so good
Down Royal racecourse in Northern Ireland facing possible closure at the end of the year after the current management team, the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders, said in a statement that after the track’s flagship November meeting, operations would be wound down and, on expiry of their lease on 31 December 2028, the land would be handed back to owners, the Dublin-based Merrion Property Group – later, Merrion issued a statement saying it was their intention to continue racing at the Maze venue with plans to “enhance the experience of racegoers and other stakeholders while contributing to the local and wider community”
The BHA incorrectly telling Andrea Atzeni that a two-day suspension imposed by France Galop did not rule him out of riding at Ascot on Champions Day, but then having to tell him he would have to miss the meeting after being advised by the French racing authority that the BHA couldn’t alter the France Galop ban
William Hill selling all 82 of their racecourse pitches to on-course bookmaker Sid Hooper for what is believed to be a deal worth around £2m – Hills say they will concentrate their racecourse activity on the 40+ betting shops they now run
Paddy Power Betfair being fined £2.2m by the Gambling Commission after it was found the firm had inadequate checks in place into problem gamblers whilst significant amounts of stolen money were gambled on the Betfair exchange – £1.7m of the fine is being paid to the GambleAware charity, £500,000 returned to those affected and £50,000 to the Commission in costs
Sean Quinlan receiving a 12-day ban for missing out a fence in the Durham National Sedgefield which had been dolled off after a fall but reinstated on the next circuit – Quinlan was out in the lead when he mistakenly thought the fence was still to be avoided and was first past the post
Yarmouth racecourse photographer, Roger Harris, retiring from the role at the age of 82, but not before being kicked by a horse on his final day and needing first-aid treatment
