If the August Bank Holiday announces the end of summer, the following day can often be something of an anticlimax. A Tim Easterby double and a horse named named Mark’s Choice did their best to rebut the allegation.
Despite the proximity to Sheriff Hutton, Ripon was never a favourite haunt of the late Peter Easterby. Not so son Tim, for whom a Ripon Tuesday double comprised two legs of a cross card treble, following hard on the heels of a listed winner on our first day. This was his 13th Ripon winner this term, only Beverley and Redcar coming close.
Hanney Girl had something in hand in her 2l victory over Straight Ahead in the 5f nursery, David Allan not needing too much effort to set up her second consecutive win after breaking her duck at Beverley a month ago.
He had to work considerably harder for the second leg of the Easterby Ripon double, over the mile course of the St Ethelburga’s Collegiate Handicap. Riding course and distance winner That’s My Boy Luke, successful here in early July, Allan wore down leader Travis to win on the line by a nose. If that’s not looking after your handicap mark, then nothing is!
Multiple winners are always popular with racegoers, often for the simplest reason. But where horses endure over several seasons, they become respected and loved by their public at every level of the sport. Shergar, Dancing Brave and Enable came back to win time and again at the highest level, but the same thing is going on for horses of more modest calibre. One such is Mark’s Choice, who graduated to become Ripon’s most successful winner, when notching a ninth course success in the 6f Ripon Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse Handicap.
The nine year old gelding has won 11 of his 67 races, 9 at Ripon, for three separate handlers, the most recent of which is Gemma Tutty. This time he did it the hard way, leading from the off, and holding on by a head from the fast-finishing Woodstock, with a stone extra on his back. Horses like Mark’s Choice are the backbone of the sport, enthusing generations of spectators, even to the extent books are published about them, as happened with Cool Roxy, 11 time winner at Fakenham.
Nearly 20% of Richard Fahey’s runners this year have been juveniles. His ninth two year old winner came from Kind Touch, who made a winning debut in the 5f maiden. It was an adept piece of riding by Oisin Orr, bringing the colt from the rear to lead on the line. Even with the winning margin just a nose, it wasn’t a harsh introduction to the sport.
The day had begun just as the previous day, with a winner by Mark Walford, this time in an apprentices’ handicap over 1m 2f. 6 year old gelding Bay Dream Believer completed a hat-trick, the last two legs at Ripon, under the guidance of 3lb claimer Rhys Elliott. Elliott is expanding his reach. He has already had 40 more rides this year than last, and is on course to beat his 2024 total of 15 winners, this his 12th.
This week is National Racehorse Week, a series of open days at over 100 yards up and down the land, where enthusiasts can see behind the scenes. it includes one of the most famous training centres in the past 50 years, at Edgcote, near Banbury, where Ben Case, Alex Hales and David Dennis ply their craft. Dual Grand National winner L’Escargot was trained here for the Courage family, owners of the eponymous brewery. This year it’s the turn of Alex Hales to open his yard.
However, it was Edgcote neighbour Ben Case who made the headlines at Ripon in the final 2 mile handicap, with a horse sure to go jumping over the next few months. Regally Blonde under claimer Jack Nicholls, was slowly away, but made up ground to lead three out, before giving second best to challenger Lillistar, in receipt of 10lb. The six year old dug deep however to get back up on the line, the winning margin just a head: yet another finish to tax the judge these past two days.
