As racing lockdown eases, Grace scores a first for Wales
CONGRATULATIONS to Chepstow trainer Grace Harris who, after the racing lockdown, became the first Welsh trainer to saddle a winner.
Grace, who in 2014 became the youngest dual purpose trainer – Flat and over the sticks – was successful at Newmarket, the spiritual home of Flat racing, with the top-weighted Bungee Jump, a 33-1 outsider, who under Rossa Ryan landed division two of the Play 4 To Win At Betway Handicap on June 4.
Five-year-old Bungee Jump carried a hefty 9st 8lb. Little wonder then that when Grace was my Turf Talk Questionnaire guest last year she named the official handicapper as one of her pet racing hates – the other, by the way, being low prize money.
Grace, a former trainer of point-topointers, was born on July 24, 1990 at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and she trains at Shirenewton, just three miles from Wales’ premier racecourse, Chepstow.
The day before Grace saddled her Newmarket winner, Welsh jockey David Probert, from Bargoed, scored a hat-trick at Kempton Park. He was successful on Never Dark ( 2-1 ), Berlin
Tango (7-1) and Sepahi (9-1). The first two winners were trained by Andrew Balding and the last one by SL Keightley and those lucky punters who backed all three were rewarded with a 240-1 treble.
BRIAN’S BLAST FROM THE PAST
In the Western Mail on January 21, 2003 and under the heading “Long odds suit Debbie better as a trainer than as a rider”, I had this to say:
“Former Welsh point-to-pointer Power Unit was a 33-1 winner at Taunton last Thursday for Debbie Hamer, who trains at Nantycaws in Carmarthen.
“Debbie, who rode in point-topoints herself, is married to Paul Hamer, who won the Welsh point-topoint riders’ championship in the 1980s.
“Debbie is having much more success as a trainer than she had as a rider and since she was granted a trainer’s licence a couple of years ago, has set what surely be some kind of a record for saddling big-odds winners.
“How many trainers do you know who can claim to have turned out winners at odds of 66-1, 50-1, 33-1 and two at odds of 25-1 in such a short time? And that’s not counting several more winners at much shorter odds.
“Paul is no stranger to riding longodds winners himself, the most famous of them being Yellow Jersey, on whom he won the Audi Grand Prix de Chasse at Sandown Park at odds of 25-1.
“Tim Vaughan, from Laleston near Bridgend, finished runner-up to Evan
Williams in the Welsh Riders’ Championship last season, riding 16 winners to Evan’s 38. But when you think that Evan’s total of wins also won him the National Riders’ Championship, it puts things more in perspective.’’
“Tim, aged 23, enjoyed his bestever season, beating his previous personal best by two wins. One horse he will be riding into the winners’ enclosure again this season is Norman Jones’ Buckland Boy, a winner on two occasions last season. The Rhondda’s Mr Jones, one of the stalwarts of
Welsh hunt-racing and who hasn’t been in the best of health for some time now, has had some good pointto-pointers over the years and my favourite was Matsix, who turned out to be a very good ladies’ racehorse.’’
Nice to report that 17 years later Debbie Hamer, Evan Williams and Tim Vaughan are still sending out winners.
■ Email your racing news and views to brianlee4@virginmedia. com or phone 029 2073 6438.