I hope everyone enjoyed the Welsh Racing Festival at Chepstow over the last week. Bath was well represented, with plenty of hours put in by the team supporting our colleagues, from moving rails and hurdles to assisting during racing itself. It is always good to lend a hand at another ARC course, and I think plenty of camaraderie was had!
Back at Lansdown, we held our penultimate meeting of the season on Monday and were very well supported, with 92 horses declaring on ground described as Good. Four non runners on the day still left us with 88 runners taking part, which made for a busy afternoon. We were fortunate to enjoy a lovely sunny autumnal day, with the ground mainly Good to Soft following 3mm rainfall during the early hours on Monday, and conditions suiting the time of year nicely.
Looking to this week and beyond, the weather looks set to change quite considerably now. At the time of writing, a significant amount of rain is either already falling or on its way, and the forecast suggests it could continue right up to our final fixture on Thursday 29 October. If that proves correct, we are likely to see the softest ground we have raced on all season. That is certainly not unusual for our final meeting, but it will be a change after the drier conditions we experienced for much of the summer.
The rainfall will be very welcome, not just here at Bath but at jump courses across the country. Many have continued to feel the effects of the summer drought, with some adapting their fixtures to hurdle races only, while others have had to abandon meetings while they wait for conditions to improve. I know how challenging it can be to prepare a safe racing surface when the weather is against you, so it is encouraging to finally see some meaningful rainfall arriving for those courses as the National Hunt season gets underway.
Monday also saw a special milestone for the Pipe family, as we welcomed Jack Pipe to Bath for his first ride under rules after completing his time in pony racing. His family were there to support him, and it was particularly pleasing to see legendary trainer Martin Pipe in attendance too. I had a brief chat with Martin to welcome him back to Lansdown, and he mentioned that it had been many years since he last visited Bath.
Jack enjoyed a good first spin round the track, finishing fourth on a horse trained by his father, David Pipe. It was a nice moment for the family and a pleasure to have them with us. There was also somewhat of a personal connection for me, as during my time riding as a conditional jockey, I rode a winner for David on a horse called Main Fact. It was great to catch up with him again, this time from the other side of the weighing room in my role as Clerk of the Course!
Our final fixture on 29 October is now fast approaching, and there is still plenty to look forward to. We will be presenting the award for Bath’s Ride of the Year, as voted for by our annual members. The votes are now in, so keep your eyes peeled as our annual members take to the winners podium to present the winning jockey with their award following one of the stand out rides of the season.
As we head towards the end of another busy year, I would like to thank everyone who has supported Bath throughout the season, from the trainers, owners and jockeys to our racegoers and, of course, the team who work so hard behind the scenes.
Hopefully we will see plenty of you at Lansdown for our final meeting of the year on 29 October. I look forward to finishing the season on a high, whatever the weather has in store for us!
