Jun 17, 2024

Race Report: Friday 14 June (Ladies Day)

It was a damp start for Newton Abbot’s popular Ladies Day meeting but, although the weather brightened up as the evening went on, the big crowd found winners difficult to come by.

In the absence of likely favourite Seeyouinmydreams, the opening Janet Denning Fifehead Farms Memorial Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle looked to lie between the two previous winners in the field with Hard As Nails a well-supported 8/11 favourite to beat leading trainer Dan Skelton’s Parkin Fine.

But, the race didn’t quite go the way that the betting suggested as, after Auntie Maggie had set a good pace, it was 10/1 shot Dame Sarra, runner-up on her hurdles debut at Warwick, who seized the initiative turning for home and was always holding Hard As Nails over the final two flights.

The betting for the evening’s feature race, the Class3 Peninsula Finance Plc Handicap Chase, was dominated by Joe Tizzard’s two runners with War Lord favourite ahead of Kauto The King. Again, the market got it wrong as, with War Lord falling and Kauto The King struggling from some way out, the race went to No Getaway, who had fallen in a hunter chase over the course on his last run. Top-weight Sacre Coeur took the field along until the fourth-last fence where No Getaway jumped to the front and he ran on strongly to see off Only Money, with a one-paced Sacre Coeur back in third.

Stratford winner Grivetana was the market choice in the EBCS Leisure Giddy Up Mares’ Handicap Hurdle, but she couldn’t peg back all-the-way winner Carrigeen Kampala who was winning over the course for the fourth time. Carrigeen Kampala had finished last behind Mermaids Cave on her seasonal reappearance at Cartmel, but a bad mistake at the final flight had put paid to her chances and the 8/1 shot bounced back to form here to beat Grivetana, with Pop The Champagne staying on in third.

Langley Hundred showed the benefit of wind surgery when going down by just a head to Easy Bucks at the last meeting, but he is still seeking that elusive first win over fences as, after looking like the winner jumping the last fence in the Newton Abbot Novices’ Handicap Chase, he was run out of it by Broomfields Cave close home with just a neck between them at the line.

The St Austell Brewery Handicap Hurdle was won by Hammer Dan, sent off at 12/1, who took advantage of a last flight blunder by Dear Ralphy to score for trainer David Pipe, before King’s Castle became the first winning favourite of the evening when carrying top weight to victory and complete a hat-trick in the Peninsula Finance Plc Handicap Hurdle.

Irish raider Delta Force could never land a blow in the closing newtonabbotracing.com Open National Hunt Flat Race as newcomer Alan De Banks ran down Born In The West in the final few yards for a narrow win.