Friday 4th November - The 24 hour declarations are out for tomorrow’s exciting racing at Wincanton, Badger Ales Chase Day. A total of seven races are scheduled during the afternoon, with proceedings kicking off at 12.30pm.
The two highlight races on the card, both of which are covered on Channel 4 are the StanJames.com Elite Hurdle and the Badger Ales Trophy Handicap Chase.
A total of 11 horses have been declared for the Badger Ales Trophy Handicap Chase including three from Neil Mulholland’s yard, which is based near Bath, The Young Master, Fingerontheswitch and Carole’s Destrier. The likely favourite for the race is Southfield Theatre, who is trained by Paul Nicholls in Ditcheat, just north of Wincanton and ridden by the up and coming jockey Harry Cobden.
The StanJames Elite Hurdle, seen as a key trail ahead of the Stan James Champion Hurdle at The Cheltenham Festival next March will see 11 horses line up. The race, which was won last year by Irving, is over two miles, the same distance at the feature race at The Festival and connections are sure to be eager to get a win on the board this early on in the season. Currently favourite with the sponsor is Sceau Royal at a price of 11/10 favourite. Also entered is North Hill Harvey, trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by his brother Harry and Zubayr, another for the Nicholls/Cobden duo.
As a first for the Somerset track, a jockey camera will be in use during racing. The camera will be worn by two jockeys participating in the Stan James Elite Hurdle (2:10pm) and the Badger Ales Trophy run at 3:20pm. It is built into a band that is fitted around a jockey’s skullcap, captures real life footage of the essence of race riding. The birds-eye-view content from Saturday’s two feature races will be freely available to Channel 4 and Racing UK audiences, and will also be shown on Wincanton Racecourse’s social media sites.
The going is currently Going is GOOD, with a forecast for a dry but overcast day tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s race sponsor, Stan James, is hosting a treasure hunt in Wincanton Town Centre, with the change of winning tickets to the pinnacle of Jump racing, The Cheltenham Festival, details of which can be found below.
Treasure Hunt
Join the #SJTreasureHunt during this year’s StanJames.com Road to Cheltenham and you could win fantastic prizes and free tickets to top-class racing, including, Champions Day at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival.
We’re hiding five goody bags the day before racing at Road to Cheltenham races Wincanton tomorrow. So keep your eyes peeled at bus stops, monuments and well, just about anywhere and you and a friend could be our guest on the Road to Cheltenham.
Here’s when the #SJTreasureHunt will take place:
Friday 4th November in Wincanton
Saturday 12th November in Cheltenham
Saturday 25th November in Newcastle
Friday 9th December in Cheltenham
Friday 20th January in Liverpool
Monday 13th March in Cheltenham
Follow @StanJamesRacing on twitter and StanJamesBet on Facebook for #SJTreasureHunt clues and all the breaking news on the StanJames.com Road to Cheltenham.
We hope to see you there!
Gates open at 10:30am on Saturday, 5th November with the first race at 12:30pm. To book tickets visit www.wincanton.thejockeyclub.co.uk or call 0344 579 3014.
About Wincanton Racecourse:
Wincanton Racecourse is situated in the heart of Somerset – home to rural jump racing. Wincanton stages 18 meetings each season. Please find more details at wincanton.thejockeyclub.co.uk and through Twitter (@WincantonRaces) and Facebook facebook.com/WincantonRaces
Wincanton Racecourse is part of The Jockey Club, which has been at the heart of British racing for more than 260 years. Today the largest commercial group in the sport, The Jockey Club runs the largest racecourse group in the UK by turnover (2015: £174.2m), attendances (2015: 1.95m), total prize money (2015: £43.9m), contribution to prize money (2015: £19.9m) and quality racing (Group and Graded races); more than 3,000 acres of world-class training grounds in Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom Downs; The National Stud breeding enterprise and education provider; and the charity for racing's people in need, Racing Welfare. Governed by Royal Charter, every penny The Jockey Club makes it puts back into British racing. More information is available at www.thejockeyclub.co.uk.
About Wincanton Racecourse:
Wincanton Racecourse is situated in the heart of Somerset – home to rural jump racing. Wincanton stages 18 meetings each season. Please find more details at wincanton.thejockeyclub.co.uk and through Twitter (@WincantonRaces) and Facebook facebook.com/WincantonRaces
Wincanton Racecourse is part of The Jockey Club, which has been at the heart of British racing for more than 260 years. Today the largest commercial group in the sport, The Jockey Club runs the largest racecourse group in the UK by turnover (2015: £174.2m), attendances (2015: 1.95m), total prize money (2015: £43.9m), contribution to prize money (2015: £19.9m) and quality racing (Group and Graded races); more than 3,000 acres of world-class training grounds in Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom Downs; The National Stud breeding enterprise and education provider; and the charity for racing's people in need, Racing Welfare. Governed by Royal Charter, every penny The Jockey Club makes it puts back into British racing. More information is available at www.thejockeyclub.co.uk.
For further information please contact Sophia Dale on Sophia.dale@thejockeyclub.co.uk or 01242 537 683.
