You know we’re into the silly season when an ice cream championship features in the ploys to get a holiday audience to the races, but sometimes, you know, the daftest ideas can come to a glorious conclusion. Amid the children with vanilla-smeared faces were more discerning older customers appreciating the best of dairy produce from God’s Own Country as the first of three August fixtures melted off the cone at the Garden Racecourse. Hats off to Abbyo’s Artisan Gelato for pipping several others to the prize.
Wow! That’s a recipe for indigestion
Horse welfare is always at the top of our agenda, and our 34 runners might have appreciated a double cone with a Flake were the chocolate not full of additives likely to fail a post-race dope test! Poet’s Dawn was perhaps the most deserving, completing a hat-trick of successes that started here a fortnight ago. Making pretty much all the running, the game 11 year old held on by a neck over favourite Polygram from the in-form Tristan Davidson yard.
Poet’s Dawn is the sort of horse most trainers love: robust, game and fast. Twelve outings already since the start of April have generated no less than 5 victories, 3 of them chez nous. The Tim Easterby handicapper has a little way to go to catch up Mark’s Choice, but is rapidly becoming a horse for course at Ripon over middle distances. Sean Kirrane was in the plate.
Two smart novice events, one for juveniles and one for three year olds and up, produced contrasting results. Karl Burke wasted no time in bringing back Reflect On Glory a week on from finishing 5l third on debut behind the Crisford-trained Pure Mint. the market shaped The Mean Fiddler to be favourite on the back of a runner-up position at Pontefract a week ago, but the colt lost ground at the start by ducking left, and Clifford Lee on reflect On Glory took full advantage to win by 3/4l, the pair 7l clear of the rest.
A Burke double looked on the cards in the 3yo+ novice event that followed, but the Burke-trained Royale Union went down by a short head to rank outsider All Good, closing off a winner drought lasting 25 days for Julie Camacho, who also owned the filly with breeder partner Steve Brown.
Favourite backers were given a reprieve in the 5f fillies handicap, sponsored by Weatherbys Bloodstock Pro. Ruth Carr only took charge of Angel Numbers earlier last month, but the change of scene appears to have galvanised the Profitable filly, who is now living up to her sire’s name with a second win in as many runs. She seems capable of a step up in class, easing down to win this 5 runner event by 2 1/2l, and seems ahead of the handicapper. James Sullivan steered her to his 15th winner of the term.
Angel Numbers with connections of winning owners Grange Park Racing
Nigel Tinkler had sent 17 previous runners to Ripon this year, drawing a blank on each occasion, but Lord Roxby put that right in the 6f Wilmot-Smith Handicap under Alex Jary, winning a healthy 1 3/4l ahead of favourite Dark Cloud Rising. This was the first leg of Tinkler double, Sergeant Mayer going in at Nottingham within the hour.
It was left to Connor Beasley to wrap up the day in the Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate Handicap over a mile, sending favourite backers home happy as 2/1 Amber Hamur went on to win by 1 3/4l for Edward Bethell.
Ripon’s annual William Hill St Wilfred Handicap graces our next card on August 15th – our feature race of the season.
