Night three of the 2025 Racing League took place at Chepstow last week and the Wales & The West team just about kept themselves in the hunt thanks to the victory of Beylerbeyi (photographed). Trained in Worcestershire by Ian Williams, the gelding was ridden by Eddy Greatrex, who donned his side’s red silks to secure a three-quarter length verdict in the 1m4f handicap.
The team still have it all to do with three fixtures of the competition to come but moved on to 304 points due to a successful ‘joker’ play on Beylerbeyi. That leaves them in fifth of seven and trailing The East team, who lead the way with 395 points, while the London & The South outfit are second on 379 points.
Jamie Osborne, the ex-star jump jockey who now trains in Lambourn, led Wales & The West to glory in the series last year, but acknowledges a repeat triumph is unlikely. “I highly doubt we are going to win the competition, but it is still nice to have winners, especially in Wales!” he said. “There might be a mathematical route to win but it is going to be fairly exotic, so I would say we have no chance. Winners and prize money for our owners will be the aim for the rest of the competition.
“Last year we came in with a group of well-handicapped horses that had been saved for it, whereas this year the new rules have enabled the other team managers to recruit well-handicapped horses. On top of that, we have underperformed. We came here thinking we had live chances and a lot of things have gone wrong.”
Local trainers Christopher Mason and Grace Harris are among those Osborne can call on, but neither of their runners was able to strike in the 5f handicap won by Billie Be Quick, who obliged for celebrated Irish trainer Jessica Harrington.
All Ways Glamorous, representing Mason, did best by finishing fifth, while So Smart was ninth of the 12 runners for Harris, who has been enjoying a fruitful summer.
The card offered £330,000 in prize money across its seven races and the feature 7f handicap went to Great Acclaim for London & The South with the Osborne-trained Tarkhan, who was ridden by his daughter Saffie, finishing only fourth.
Elsewhere, the winning run of Moe’s Legacy, who had bagged three on the bounce for Ron Harris, came to an end when she was third at Newbury.
The next racing in Wales takes place at Ffos Las on Wednesday, when the action begins at 5.55pm, while Chepstow opens its doors once more on Thursday. Gates open at 12.30pm for the Autism in Racing race day and the first race is at 2.30pm.
The day also features a charity race to raise funds for the organisation and Hennessy Gold Cup-winning rider Mattie Batchelor is among the former jockeys taking part as well as John Kington.
Donations for Autism in Racing can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/autisminr.
