YORK’S two-day race meeting last week, which culminated in Saturday’s Macmillan Charity Day, was a great success for all concerned – with Ryedale stables enjoying their share of it.

Racing on Knavesmire is always very competitive and good crowds attended the two days. A record sum in excess of £340,000 was contributed to the charity and the total amount raised since it was inaugurated 43 years ago now approaches £6 million.

The finale of the day’s racing was a charity race, which itself raised more than £65,000, and was won by Venetia Wrigley on Extraterrestrial, trained by Malton’s Richard Fahey.

Meanwhile, the big race of the day, the £100,000 Macmillan Charity Sprint Trophy, a six-furlong handicap for three-year-olds, was sponsored by the racecourse and won by Body And Soul from Tim Easterby’s Great Habton stables, ridden by Duran Fentiman A winner of four races last season, including valuable prizes at Newbury and Redcar, Body And Soul started favourite at 7-1 – some measure of the keenness of the competition – and the filly had to battle hard in the closing stages to beat Moviesta by a neck, with Barracuda Boy third.

Easterby said after the race: “She’s a tremendous filly but it’s been hard training her this year because she had such a tough season at two (years old).

“Duran rides her very well and we’ll probably go the Ayr Gold Cup route, as there’s no suitable programme for three-year-old sprinters.”

The Reg Griffin Appreciation EBF Maiden Stakes, run in remembrance of the progenitor of this charity day, attracted a field of 15, several of which had racecourse experience and one of which, the Richard Hannon-trained Edge, ridden by Richard Hughes, started at 6-4 favourite.

Fahey ran three unraced colts and two of them, Rufford and Bahamian C, finished first and second.

He said of Rufford: “We have some nice two-year-olds and this lad took part in a gallop to see which ones go to Ascot. He finished sixth and, as the one who was fifth won the other day, I knew he had a good chance.”

The Brian Ellison-trained Christmas Light, ridden by Harry Bentley, was a convincing winner of the one-mile one-furlong handicap and, in the first race of the afternoon, the Queen Mother’s Cup for lady amateur riders, Warlu Way, ridden by Joanna Mason for grandfather Mick Easterby, was beaten a nose by the tough Scottish-trained 11-year-old Nanton.

On the Friday card, Nawton trainer David O’Meara and jockey Danny Tudhope registered a double with Smarty Socks in the seven-furlong handicap and a particularly facile success for Grandorio over one-and-a-quarter miles.

Ellison’s aptly-named Looks Like Rain, ridden by Kevin Stott, ended the afternoon with a win in the apprentice handicap, run during a downpour.

Musselburgh also staged a valuable fixture on Saturday and Ryedale stables came up with four winners at the Scottish track.

Tim Easterby set the ball rolling in the opener when The Nifty Fox, ridden by James Sullivan, who was soon back in the winner’s enclosure when he scored for Ellison on Capellanus.

Tom Eaves gave Tim Easterby another win with Clockmaker and Fahey completed the afternoon’s success when Lee Topliss rode Size to victory in the last race.

LAST week, Gloria Charnock, wife of ex-lightweight jockey Lindsay Charnock, organised a special golf competition at Sandburn Hall Golf Club in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund, and in particular Jack Berry House, the jockeys’ rehabilitation centre to be built at Malton.

This will be only the second centre of its kind in Britain, the first being Oaksey House at Lambourn in Berkshire.

Gloria said the day was a great success and raised more than £5,200 for the project.

She added that she wished to publicly express her thanks to everyone who took part, those who donated prizes for the raffle and auction, and particularly to Nigel Tinkler, who assisted her with the golf, Brian Ellison, one of whose owners donated the trophies, and Jack Berry, who conducted the auction.

The individual winner just so happened to be Manchester United and England midfield star Paul Scholes, who also skippered the winning team, Market Avenue, one of 20 in the tournament.

 

•RYEDALE stables have many entries at the Royal Ascot meeting, which is now in full swing, with Richard Fahey in the vanguard, writes Alec Russell.

With 2,000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach somewhat surprisingly being aimed to take on Magician and Toronado on the first day in the Queen Anne Stakes, the Musley Bank trainer has opted to run his highly rated Garswood in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes over seven furlongs today (Wednesday).

When asked how he rated Garswood, he said: “I think he’s the best horse we’ve had – we’ve never had one like him.”

He also runs Lady’s First, with Paul Hanagan riding, today.

Ryedale neighbour David O’Meara has two runners, Two For Two and Toto Skyllachy, and Brian Ellison one, Global Village, in the Royal Hunt Cup, which sees a field of 33 competing for this straight mile handicap.

Tomorrow (Thursday), Tim Walford takes on 23 opponents with his two-year-old Catterick-winning filly, Lorimer’s Lot, in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, while Tim Easterby has Ventura’s Mist in the same contest.

Fahey has decided to dodge this race with his smart filly Sandiva and no doubt she will be having a crack at the Group 3 Albany Stakes on Friday when Beaumont’s Party is likely to represent Brian Ellison in the Wolferton Handicap.

 

 • WITH the Royal Ascot meeting ongoing, it is timely to mourn the death of Sir Henry Cecil last week at the age of 70.

No other trainer approaches his record of 75 wins at the Royal meeting. He was a trainer much respected in the racing industry and was worshipped by the average racegoer and betting shop punter.

He had a close association with Ryedale and owned the Cliff Stud near Helmsley.

As well as breeding horses at the stud, several of his star performers wintered there. For many years the stud was managed by David, his twin brother, who, like Henry, was to fall victim to cancer. He died 13 years ago.

No one who was at York last August after Frankel’s win in the Juddmonte International could fail to sense the affection felt for Sir Henry when his frail frame appeared in the winner’s enclosure.

The reception given to him matched that given to Frankel himself: the unbeaten champion and the unbroken patient.

This year’s Queen’s Vase, a Group 3 race for three-year-olds run on Friday, is renamed The Queen’s Vase In Memory Of Sir Henry Cecil.