The first meeting at Ffos Las since February is this Thursday 1st April when the feature race is the £14,900 Potters Canter Carpet West Wales National.
The 2019 winner Pobbles Bay, trained by Evan Williams, is one of the 22 horses entered for the race over three and a half miles. Other entries include Amateur, Holdbacktheriver, Seaston Spirit, Hill Sixteen, Dominateur, Volcano, Ballycross, Alminar and Snuff Box. There are seven races from 1.55pm all live on Sky Sports Racing.
For those who missed the column last week, we have decided to move the Kaiser Chiefs race day at Ffos Las from this May to Friday 27th August. Tickets are available from the website.
The next meeting at Chepstow is Easter Monday 5th April when the races are sponsored by the locally based Bucket Manufacturing Company, W&S Recycling from Poole and PH Plasterers. We also race on Saturday 10th April, the same day as the Grand National at Aintree.
There is still no news from the Welsh Government about trials with spectators and we remain hopeful of a positive update in the very near future.
Welsh trainers and jockeys continue in superb form across the country.
Trainer Christian Williams sent Kitty’s Light on a round trip of almost 800 miles from his Ogmore on Sea base to Kelso last Saturday and the journey was well worthwhile when the 5-year-old won a Class 2 chase with first place prize money of £18,000. Jack Tudor was the successful rider.
James Bowen’s season started relatively quietly but he’s been in tremendous form with six winners since March 21st including a double at Musselburgh last Friday. He’s now ridden 29 winners this season. Sean Bowen’s last two winners have produced prize money of £21,000 and he’s moved on to 62 winners for the season and 8th position in the jockeys’ championship.
Richard Patrick rode a big winner last Saturday at Newbury when Tinkers Hill Tommy, trained in Pembrokeshire by Rebecca Curtis, won the £20,000 first prize for the Conditional Jockeys’ Veterans’ Handicap Chase Final.
The ten-year-old is owned by the Lewis family, well known in the hunting and point to point scene in West Wales. Ironically, Richard rode the horse in his first ever point to point at Howick near Chepstow in 2016. Tinkers Hill Tommy has been a great servant and won the prestigious Dunraven Bowl at Chepstow in 2018 having been runner-up the previous year.
Finally, I was sorry to hear of the passing of Welsh jump jockey Granville Davies. He was the rider of multiple winners Grey Dolphin and Yangtse-Kiang in the 1980s, trained by recently retired Milton Bradley just outside Chepstow. He lost his battle with cancer and has died aged 60.
2 winners Newbury and Musselburgh
