North Yorkshire trainer Ann Duffield reflects on a big week for racing

NEWCASTLE Racecourse hit the headlines in a major way last week after the inaugural meeting run on the all-weather attracting a lot of support from industry insiders, professionals and race goers alike.
Racecourse owners “ARC” must have been delighted as a bumper crowd showed up to watch and plenty of trainers and owners supported the track on its first day.
As Middleham trainer Mark Johnston said “they had the best turf track and now they have the best all-weather track” and his thoughts were echoed by everyone.
Certainly ARC’s new “Tapeta” surface has heralded a new era for horse racing in the North and, with the promised increase in prize money levels, the region has much to look forward to.
Catterick also confirmed their determination to build another all-weather track, replacing the current turf flat track in the next couple of years. They already have planning permission and have the perfect location with so many trainers in the Yorkshire catchment area.
Northern trainers and owners have complained bitterly for years about having no all-weather racecourse in the area, resulting in many owners (understandably) not wanting to keep their horses in training during the winter.
This much needed new facility gives us more choice and greater opportunities for our horses, without the colossal costs involved in transporting runners south. It will change the way many owners and trainers campaign their horses which ultimately can only be a good thing for the sport.

ON the racing front, we have seen some great performances in recent days, most notably in Ireland when 82-year-old Kevin Prendergast, the Curragh’s longest serving trainer, took the Irish 2000 guineas with “Awtaad” some 40 years after he saddled Northern Treasure to win the race back in 1976.
It was a highly emotional win with post-race scenes rarely, if ever, witnessed in flat racing. Kevin Prendergast is without a doubt one of Ireland’s most popular and well respected trainers who has handled some great horses such as “Ardross” and “Oscar Schindler”. For stable Jockey Chris Hayes, who has been with his “guvnor” since he was 15yrs old, it was a very special day and the ovation they all received was much deserved.

ON home soil, the locally trained and hugely popular “Mecca’s Angel” was just denied victory in the Temple Stakes at Haydock when “Profitable” edged up to win by a neck having hung in the race, carrying Michael Dods’s superstar sprinter across the track.
The stewards deliberated for fifteen minutes before deciding to let the result stand. Mecca’s Angel will head to Royal Ascot for the “Kings Stand” so, hopefully, another major prize might head North in June.

WE have some great trainers in the north who offer considerably better value for money than our southern counterparts and I believe - pound for pound - the northern trainers punch way above their weight.
Flat racing in the north has never looked so exciting. Sadly, we can’t say the same for National Hunt racing in the north at the moment. There is work going on behind the scenes to rectify this, but it will take time.

BACK at the Curragh on Sunday, the Irish 1000 Guineas produced a shock winner when Jet Setting beat Minding in a thrilling dual for supremacy. Horse racing consists of astonishing, fairytales and the winner of this year’s Irish classic is fairytale material at its best. Selected and bought by a young, up and coming twenty something year old man from Doncaster who happens to be a friend of my son “AJ”, John Kilbride has quickly established himself as a bloodstock agent of some repute, having bought cheap horses from the sales who have gone on to do well.
Jet Setting cost just £12,000 out of Richard Hannon’s yard last Autumn and, having won a Group 3 event recently, was supplemented for the Guineas.

AT home on our hill in the Yorkshire Dales, it’s been a busy couple of weeks.
I was delighted to see two-year-old debutant Cuppacoffee win well last Sunday at Ripon recording our third first time out two-year-old winner, while other debutants Dubai Knight’s and Indigo Beat showed plenty of promise on their debuts.
Landing Night won for the fourth time in his career at one of his favoured local tracks at Catterick on Friday while George and I were busy at the breeze-up sales at Goresbridge in Ireland, where we were delighted to add a smart colt by Intense Focus, a stoutly bred American bred colt and a filly by the top freshman’s sire “Helmet” to our armoury.
With new owners joining the yard, I am sure these three racehorses will soon find new owners, especially when they can be viewed and seen in action on our website www.annduffield.co.uk which, having been unveiled only three months ago, has now passed the 100,000 “hits” mark at the weekend.