On a day themed around Downton Abbey, Tony Carroll travelled the aptly-named Dream Composer to win the feature Ripon Silver Sprint Trophy holding Copper Knight at bay to win by 3/4l under 7lb claimer Myla Coppins. Carroll is a rare flat trainer in the heartland of Jump racing in Worcestershire.
On a day of great spectacle, in which no winning distance exceeded a length, spectators were in Edwardian mood brought about by a vintage photo booth, series of Edwardian props, vintage cars and cocktails to celebrate the roaring twenties. Downton, the eponymous drama series set at Highclere Castle on the Berkshire-Hampshire border, descended on Ripon last summer to film scenes supposedly at Royal Ascot, where the disgraced Lady Mary was forbidden to enter the Royal Enclosure.
Out on the track, however, the competition was anything but genteel, with four races shared by Yorkshire handlers.
Tim Easterby and David Allan, denied a prestigious scalp in the Sprint Trophy, had already enjoyed success earlier in the afternoon, when Treasure Islands had the legs on the favourite No More Bolero in the 7f handicap, Rupert The Prince a head behind in third. Easterby is a force to be reckoned with at Ripon, his career total of 238 winners only closely matched by Beverley at 220. No other course – even in Yorkshire – comes close.
Cousin Michael and nephew David are equally trenchant fans of their home county’s racecourses, and pretty successful at them too. Maintaining a friendly competitive family rivalry along the lines of “what he can do I can do better”, Liverpool Star’s winning margin of a head in the concluding 6f Watch Sky Sports Racing in HD Handicap brought up the stable’s eighth winner of the nascent term, this time under the guidance of Billy Garrity.
This was the second leg of a double for Garrity, who scored for another Yorkshire yard, this time Richard & Peter Fahey in the Napoleons Casino & Restaurant Leeds restricted Maiden Fillies race over 1m2f. This was a first outing on turf for Mudita, who was ridden out to win by 1l from Always Blue.
Team Fahey was nearly on the double sheet too, only denied by fellow Yorkshireman Grant Tuer whose Highland Olly gave favourite backers some welcome relief in landing the 9/4 about the sole winning favourite of the day in the 1m handicap. Fahey’s Up The Jazz trailed by just 1/2l at the close. Alistair Rawlinson was in the plate.
Peter Fahey joined his father on the professional licence this year after a solid career as a conditional rider, with over 100 winners over the sticks. Fahey Snr needs little introduction with over 3,000 winners worldwide, and horses like Wootton Bassett under his tutelage, now a major force in the breeding shed.
Newmarket snapped up the remaining two races, the first falling to arguably the most versatile handler in the UK presently in James Owen. If he’s not fielding runners in the US or at Cheltenham, he’s keeping his end up at venues like Ripon. Juvenile Pageant Girl had evidently learned from her maiden racing experience at Beverley 10 days previously, and was ridden to win the opening novice event over 6f by 1 1/4l by Luke Morris.
A larger scalp altogether went home down the A1M in the shape of Prydwen, who concluded a lucrative April by going one better on his 3 1/2l second in a £90,000 Good Friday handicap at Newcastle in winning the M C H Hutchinson Memorial Handicap by 1l from Stressfree, Darragh Keenan the winning rider. This was eight year old Prydwen’s 11th career victory, and his first success since winning the German St Leger back in September 2024, bringing trainer George Scott’s season tally to 10.
