Puckeridge and Essex at High Easter – Saturday 13th April
By Graham Bishop
The action returns to High Easter racecourse in deepest, rural Essex. on Saturday April 13th (first race 1pm) with the prospect of seeing seven live races and without missing any of the action of the Grand National. The big Aintree race starts at 4pm and will be screened live on a large screen, so there will be a break after the 5th live point-to-point race, to ensure the whole afternoon will be action packed from start to finish. There will a parade of retired racehorses organised through the charity RoR ( Retraining of Racehorses) to commence the afternoon proceedings at 12.30pm together with a fun dog show starting at 2pm. As usual with this meeting, there will be a large display of various tradestands, catering outlets, beer tent and gigantic funfair, so the racecourse takes on the distinct feel of a country show.
Since the last meeting, a month ago, all the bends and the plain fences have been moved to fresh ground and the course has also been harrowed, rolled, spiked and topped. Clerk of the Course, Simon Marriage and his team will have the course prepared to the best possible condition to ensure the racing will be of the highest, competitive standard.
A bumper entry has been received for this year’s fixture being held on “Grand National” Saturday, with a total of 93 individual horses having been entered across the 7-race card.
The opening contest is a Countryside Alliance Club Member’s Conditions (level 2) race for horses which have not won any race under rules nor any open point to point race since 01/10/2022. The 22 entries made for this race includes the progressive Paper Mill who has won on both his starts this season at Ampton in January (Restricted) and at Garthorpe in February (Intermediate). I’m Spellbound progressed through the grades last season winning four consecutive races, but so far this season found Yippee Ki Yay a tough opponent on his seasonal reappearance and then when victory at Larkhill looked assured, I’m Spellbound fell at the final fence when clear of his rivals. Lagan Valley was another to progress last season and continued that progression winning a level 2 Conditions race on his first start but found the competition harder on his two subsequent runs. In Our Dreams has won twice this season, a Conditions race at Guilsborough and then two runs later an Intermediate race at Paxford, both of which were run when the going was heavy. One who surprisingly qualifies for this race is Go Go Geronimo who has been runner-up on both outings this season, most recently at Higham, over 3 ½ miles, when touched off by a short head and is expected to find this track much more to his liking.
The 18 entries for the Jockey Club and Retraining of Racehorses Veteran Horse Conditions (level 2) contest shows how valuable this type of race can be for older horses. Many of those entered have yet to make their seasonal reappearance whilst others have raced sparingly waiting for better underfoot conditions. Muckamore is the sole entrant to have won a race this season having won a novice rider’s race at Horseheath and has run two good races in defeat whilst carrying a penalty. Myth Buster has run well in defeat this season, most recently finishing a close 2nd at Lockinge and Wishfull Dreaming finished 3rd at Charm Park on his sole start this year. Others to have been placed this season are Point The Way, Pont Aven, Romain De Senam, Some Operator, The Dubai Way and The Unmentionable.
Ballydonagh Boy and Dundrum Wood could renew their rivalry in the Ladies Open race when competing for the prestigious Warwick Vase trophy. They have met twice, already, this season, on the first occasion Dundrum Wood coming out on top whilst winning at Alnwick, where Ballydonagh Boy finished just over 1½ lengths behind in 3rd. In their next clash Ballydonagh Boy won the argument beating Dundrum Wood by 12 lengths, but it was Matts Commission who won the race. These clashes aside, Ballydonagh Boy has won three races, the most recent of which was on his last start at Overton. No Hassle Hoff has run well in two small field Opens, winning one at Horseheath and finishing a close 2nd at Ampton. Shentri was a wide margin winner on his first start for connections at Higham in February and returned to that track over Easter following a disappointing run in a Fakenham Hunter ‘Chase produced a much better performance, but failed to reel in the front-running Killinkere and had to settle for 2nd. Tullys Touch, the winner of the Men’s Open at Ampton in March holds an entry in both the Ladies and Men’s Open Races. The availability of a leading jockey will determine where he lines up.
The Men’s Open race has the possibility of being one of the best races to be run in East Anglia this season. Amongst the entries we have a previous winner of both hunter ‘chases for the John Corbet Cup and for the Horse and Hound Cup, namely Law Of Gold who last season won the 4 mile hunter ‘chase at Cheltenham’s May evening meeting. On the same card, Fier Jaguen won the 2 mile race beating Caryto Des Brosses in the process. This season Fier Jaguen has won both his starts in points once again defeating Caryto Des Brosse in one, whilst Law Of Gold won around this track last time defeating Captain Biggles and Tullys Touch. Another winner from that Cheltenham hunter ‘chase evening is Fairly Famous who won over 3 miles. With Georgina Andrews riding in the Grand National, Fairly Famous has been directed towards this Men’s Open and will have Jack Andrews on board for the first time. A winner on his last start at Charm Park reignited his season having got bogged down in the soft/heavy ground at Wetherby in early February. Other notable entries are Deise Aba and Knight In Dubai who are both seeking their 4th wins of this season having won their latest races on Easter Monday.
The Intermediate race has 6 horses who won on their most recent start, and of those 3 are seeking a third consecutive victory. Those seeking a three timer are Paper Mill who is also entered in the first race as previously mentioned, Glenmount who has landed a Maiden and Restricted on his last two starts and Trevada, who has won two Restricted races. The 3 horses seeking to follow up their latest victories are Burtown who won a 2 ½ mile Restricted, Urban Grit who won a Conditions race and Young Rich who won a novice riders race around this course, in March. Urban Grit can also be found amongst the entries of earlier races and as with Paper Mill and Young Rich would have to carry a penalty in this race.
Following the break in the live racing to take in the Aintree coverage the Maiden race will take place at the conclusion of the running of the Grand National and has attracted 26 entries from far and wide. Yorkshire’s Jack Teal has entered three horses, two of which have had an outing namely Boots Folly and Wotnowcato, the latter having held every chance when falling at the last on his sole outing. The third entry is the unraced 4-year-old Liveyourbestlife. The other 4-year-old amongst the entries is Crackerjack Queen for Georgina Ellis. A daughter of the ex-Harry Fry trained Desert Queen, Crackerjack Queen was travelling strongly when blundering and unseating her rider at the 12th fence on debut. There are a further two unraced horses, Jardin Carre for the stable of Bradley Gibbs and Miss Ireland who is trained by the former NH trainer Harry Whittington. Atlantic Fleet would be seeking to go one better having been denied in the closest of finishes to the Maiden race around this course last month, when Driveondonn was not too far behind in 4th. With so many having been placed this season, it will once again provide a competitive race.
The Hunt Members, Subscribers and Farmers race that will conclude the action will be a match between the horses owned and trained by Nigel Padfield who has entered three (Padjoes Legacy, Penniless and Vango Vick) and the two owned by the Signy and Marriage families (I’m Spellbound and Main Stage) who are trained by Georgina Ellis.
Gates Open 11am
RoR parade of retired racehorses 12.30pm
First point-to-point steeplechase at 1pm
Fun Dog Show starts at 2pm
Break for big screen coverage of Grand National (4pm start) after the 5th point-to-point race.
Adult admission £15 ( cash only on the gate )
Children 15 and under admitted free. Dogs on short leads welcome.
Advanced reduced price adult tickets ( £14 ) available via the following link, until midnight Friday April 12th and will be still available on raceday, via the link at £15.
https://higheasterraces.ticketsrv.co.uk/events/
High Easter racecourse is situated eight miles west of Chelmsford and set in a picturesque location, to the south of the village of High Easter. ( Sat Nav CM1 4QL )
