In the latest instalment of his Clerk’s Column, Bath Racecourse clerk of the course Ben Hicks writes exclusively for the Bath Echo.
Monday 20th October certainly gave us a proper taste of autumn racing at Bath.
It started out looking like a fairly typical October afternoon with soft as the headline going description, although rain was forecast for the day – and it duly arrived.
We ended up with 9mm of rain on the day – and after Race 3, the going officially turned heavy.
From then on, the emphasis on stamina increased as the ground continued to open up.
The track held up well, especially the focused running lines around the bends.
As so often happens in soft ground conditions, runners headed over to the stands-side rail on the home straight where the action rarely gets sighted throughout the summer months.
These sorts of days always throw up a surprise or two, and Monday’s card followed suit.
The standout moment came in the last race, when Lovely Jubly, the 66/1 outsider, won in fine style.
This followed a few recent big-price winners around the country, most notably the two Group 1 winners last Saturday at Ascot at 100/1, and a mighty 200/1, the largest-price Group 1 winner in history.
Lovely Jubly’s win was a perfect reminder that in racing, anything can happen, especially at this stage of the flat season.
Some horses come into their own on testing ground, for which many would have been kept fresh in anticipation.
Behind the scenes, my thanks go to our ground staff and the wider team here at Bath.
They were out there from dawn until dusk, ensuring the track remained in fit state, and forking back between races to maintain the surface condition during testing weather.
It’s a job that doesn’t always get the spotlight, but their experience and efforts make all the difference.
Now, attention turns to our final meeting of the season, coming up on Thursday 30th October.
Entries close at noon today (Friday 24th October), and if this week’s weather is anything to go by, we might be in for another proper test.
We’ve been able to remove some false rails and open the track up to full width for this fixture, providing fresh ground around the bends and for much of the home straight.
Trainers with proven stayers and a liking for ease in the ground will be eyeing up suitable races, and I think we may see some of Monday’s winners return.
The final fixture of the year always comes around quickly. It doesn’t seem so long ago we were preparing for our opening fixture.
Next week we’ll celebrate another season of great racing here at Bath.
Whatever the weather throws at us, we’ll be ready, and we hope to welcome many familiar faces to see out the flat turf season.
See you all on the 30th!
