THE clocks went forward on Sunday morning; yesterday witnessed the first meeting of racing’s turf Flat programme. So with grim predictability, the day at Redcar Racecourse started with an early-morning inspection to assess the damage wreaked by Storm Katie. Welcome to British Summertime.

An early Easter and an abandonment at Musselburgh meant Redcar had the honour of staging Britain’s first Flat fixture for the first time in ten years. “Moment In The Sun,” screamed the headline in the Racing Post. The punters shivering in the stands might have deemed that a tad optimistic.

Sunshine was in short supply all afternoon, but that didn’t prevent around 5,000 racegoers turning out for one of Redcar’s flagship meetings.

“It’s quite a thing for us to be able to host the first meeting of the season,” said general manager Amy Fair. “We were all a bit nervous when we saw the forecast, but we were always desperate to race.

“We had to hold an inspection because there was quite a bit of overnight rain, but everyone wanted to run. The good thing about Redcar is that it dries well if there’s a bit of wind.” There was certainly plenty of that.

It was a day for winter coats, or to seek sanctuary in the warmth of the bar. But for one jockey in particular, the conditions were never going to diminish the excitement of an afternoon that has been nine months in the making.

Last July, Connor Beasley suffered a sickening fall at Wolverhampton that left him with a fractured skull and spine as well as extensive damage to his neck and ear. He was placed into an induced coma, and had a drip inserted into his skull to remove the bleeding, and at the time, it was feared he would never return to the saddle.

He was forced to wear a full neck and head brace to hold the upper half of his body bolt upright for more than three months, but returned to Michael Dods’ Denton Hall yard to begin riding out in January.

On Sunday, he completed two comeback rides on the fibresand at Wolverhampton, and yesterday marked his return to racing on the turf as he competed in four races over the course of the afternoon.

“It just feels brilliant to be back,” said Beasley, who is based at Spennymoor. “This is what I’ve been waiting for, and hopefully I can get back into the swing of things properly now.

“I’ve been working down at Jack Berry House (in Malton) four days a week, and the folk down there have done an amazing job to get me back to where I am. They’ve been great with me, as have all my family and the trainers who have supported me in the last couple of months.

“I’ve been riding out quite a bit, so it didn’t feel weird getting back onto the track at all. If anything, it feels as though I’ve never been away.

“I just want to get back to where I was now. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, and hopefully once I get a few winners under my belt, people will stop talking about the injuries and just start talking about me as a normal jockey again. That would be the best thing that could happen.”

The Northern Echo:

The nearest Beasley came to a winner was his fourth-place finish on the Dods-trained Bradleysintown in the Totepool Happy Easter Maiden Stakes, with the returning rider placing his mount at the head of affairs, only for the three-year-old to be overhauled by some faster-finishing rivals as the heavy ground took its toll.

The honour of saddling the first winner of the season went to North Yorkshireman Mick Easterby, whose Perfect Peak landed the opening Market Cross Jewellers Fillies’ Handicap Stakes at 5-1.

“We’re the leading owners and the leading trainers,” joked assistant trainer David Easterby after Perfect Peak stayed on dourly in the testing conditions. “She loves the wet ground, and it’s nice to get off the mark so quickly.”

David O’Meara was a regular in the winners’ enclosure last season, and the Helmsley handler is up and running for the new campaign after Alphabetical Order justified favouritism to land the two-mile Totequadpot Handicap Stakes.

Formerly a novice hurdle winner for Tim Vaughan, Alphabetical Order put his jumps stamina to good use as he sliced his way through the field in the final three furlongs.

“The change of scenery has worked because he’s had a couple of runs on the all-weather,” said O’Meara. “We were a little bit worried about the ground because all of his runs had been on good ground, but he handled it well.”

On a good day for Yorkshire trainers, there were also wins for Keith Reveley, whose Affectionate Lady upset the odds at 22-1, David Barron, who saddled Bahama Moon to an impressive win in the Pinnacle Cup Straight Mile Series Qualifier, Alan Swinbank, who coaxed a marked improvement from Maiden Stakes winner Another Go, and Stillington-based Marjorie Fife, who provided favourite backers with some rare relief as Royal Holiday obliged in the sixth race on the card.