A Happy New Year! The traditional New Year’s Day meeting at Catterick is the first of 185 scheduled meetings this year in Yorkshire as a whole. The popular track hosts an attractive programme over Jumps on Thursday, 1st, with mulled wine and mince pies for the early arrivals – while stocks last!
Catterick stages further meetings this month on Thursday, 8th, Wednesday, 21st and Friday, 30th. The Thursday fixture includes the longest race of Catterick’s Jumping season, The North Yorkshire Grand National (won last year by Sun Cloud – trained at Malton by Malcolm Jefferson and ridden by Brian Hughes). The afternoon’s racing also includes The W.L. & Hector Christie Memorial Trophy (a Novices’ Chase), which commemorates William Christie and his son, Hector. William Christie passed away in 1962 at the age of 103. Educated at Eton and Oxford, his family were landowners in Wensleydale. In the Victorian era, he was an amateur rider, and rode winners in six different countries! Known as ‘The Squire of Jervaulx Abbey’, William Christie owned racehorses until he was 100 years old and he served as a Steward at Catterick. His son, Hector trained Fortina (owned by Lord Grimthorpe) to win the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Last year’s winner of this race was Alderbrook Lad – trained at Middleham in North Yorkshire by Micky Hammond and ridden by Joe Colliver.
Yorkshire’s other Jumping venues, Doncaster and Wetherby provide opportunities this month for horses being considered for the forthcoming Cheltenham and Grand National Festivals.
The first meeting of the year at Doncaster takes place on Friday, 9th, followed by a two-day fixture on Friday and Saturday (23rd & 24th) – the principal meeting over Jumps at the South Yorkshire venue. Saturday’s big race is The Sky Bet Chase, a valuable Handicap and Listed race over three miles, the origins of which go back to 1948 and for many years was known as the Great Yorkshire Chase. The big race has produced some notable winners in recent years, such as Calgary Bay (2012), Big Fella Thanks (2009), Colourful Life (2005) and Barryscourt Lad (2003), while it was back in 1953 when Knock Hard won this race before going on the land The Cheltenham Gold Cup – the only horse to do so. The chief supporting races on a top-class afternoon’s racing on Town Moor are a trio of Grade 2 contests – The Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle, The OLBG.com Mares’ Hurdle and The Racing Post Lightning Novices’ Chase.
Wetherby’s first meetings of the year include an attractive programme on Saturday, 10th (‘Christmas Jumper Saturday’), followed by a midweek fixture on Tuesday, 20th, and concluding with ‘Medieval Raceday’ on Saturday, 31st to highlight the afternoon’s feature race, The totepool Towton Novices’ Chase – a Grade 2 contest for leading novice chasers to advertise their credentials. The Battle of Towton in 1461 took place just a few miles from Wetherby and is acknowledged to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. It was a significant event in the ‘Wars of the Roses’ and resulted in a Yorkist victory. Almost 554 years later, this race meeting at Wetherby will include living history re-enactments, battle and weaponry demonstrations along with live music, making it a full day out for the family.