Two top days in store after Bath switch
OUR next meeting at Ffos Las is this Sunday (September 25). It is the start of a twoday fixture as we also race the following day with a meeting transferred from Bath, where they continue to have challenges with the ground.
Further remedial work will now be carried out at Bath to get everything ready for the 2023 season.
On Sunday it’s our Community Race Day where non-profit community organisations and voluntary groups can promote themselves to racegoers. For further information, send an email to khire@ffoslas-racecourse.co.uk
The first race is at 1.32pm and gates open at 11.30am. The final of Bath’s £25,000 Summer Stayers Series is the feature race on the card.
On Monday we’re under way at 1.25pm. Advance tickets for both fixtures are just £10, with the on-the-day price £15.
Pyledriver, the best Welsh-owned horse for many years, is set to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, Kentucky, on November 5.
The La Pyle Partnership, consisting of Cardiff-based brothers Guy and Huw Leach and their friend Roger Devlin, have seen their horse come first and second in two Coronation Cups and win this year’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Joint-trainer William Muir reported that the five-year-old had suffered a minor setback that ruled him out of the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe. The Japan Cup, worth around £2.5 million, is another option should the horse not be ready for a trip to the States. The Hong Kong Vase, worth slightly less, is another possibility.
David Evans is close to having his best season in terms of prize money. His 55 winners have netted £642,000, which is £32,000 short of his record total. That was achieved in 2009, when he had more horses and more winners.
His latest success came at Catterick on Saturday with Portelet Bay, who struck at 15-2.
Sean Bowen went to Plumpton on Sunday. Lusaka was the favourite for a maiden hurdle, but he disappointed by finishing second for the third time in a row. He is trained by Olly Murphy, for whom Bowen is going to ride more often this season.
We are counting down to the Big Welsh Racing Weekend from October 7-9. The first two days take place at Chepstow, with the closing day at Ffos Las (Dragonbet Welsh Champion Hurdle day). All the details are on the respective websites.