Yorkshire: victorious in France, going through the card and giving genourously
WINNERS ENCLOSURE
What’s been good in racing…
- Justify winning the US Triple Crown
- Laurens tenaciously repelling boarders to win the Prix de Diane at Chantilly for trainer Karl Burke, jockey P J McDonald and the Middleham team
- York’s Macmillan Cancer Support raceday generating close on £500,000 for the charity, taking the total money raised since the fixture’s inception in 1971 to over £8m
- Naas carrying out alterations on a bend, where jockeys were concerned about the state of the ground resulting in the loss of two races, which have now been tested and meet riders’ approval
- Yorkshire trainers going through the card at the Knavesmire on Friday and adding four more wins at Saturday’s big charity fixture
- BHA taking further measures to make novice races more competitive by preventing older, more experienced horses from contesting such race and amending the penalty structure
- Franny Norton riding a treble at Chester, including one from stall eight in a 6f race
- “Bridley’s Lettice has run a little gem of a race” Richard Hoiles commentating
- Gordon Elliott ending a quiet period with a season-first treble at Downpatrick
- Senior executives from Arena Racing Company, including chief executive Martin Cruddace, visiting Worcester to placate connections and promising improvements after strong criticism of the track’s owners and trainers’ facilities
- The planned train strike which would have impacted travel to Ascot being suspended
- No harm coming to trainer Rebecca Bastiman, those travelling with her and a runner, Indian Chief, when a motorcyclist seemingly crashed into the back of their horsebox on the way to York – the horse had to be cut free and the motorcyclist is recovering from broken ribs and bleeding on the chest
STEWARDS ROOM
…and what hasn’t been so good
- Ascot having to introduce additional sniffer dogs and breathalysers for arriving racegoers suspected of being inebriated – in under five minutes three people at an entrance to Sandown Park were intercepted by sniffer dogs
- Raul de Silva receiving a 21-day ban for striking Jim Crowley in a weighing-room altercation at Goodwood
- The Times posting a picture of Kauto Star when reporting the death of Denman
- The London Evening Standard describing Lizzie Kelly as a “horse jockey” in an online feature on Royal Ascot
- The London Evening Standard devoting less than a quarter-page to the first day of Royal Ascot and that’s with Ascot heavily advertising in the paper