Beverley Races, September 2022
A return to the Westwood in East Yorkshire as Beverley's season of racing draws to a close. After such a long spell of hot and dry weather, the local area saw some much needed rain and it turned the ground soft, potentially music to the ears of some runners or the nightmare of others. The traditional low draw favouritism seen so often at the unique track was neutralised as jockeys tried to find the best underfoot conditions. A five furlong sprint handicap was the main focal point and included plenty of locally trained runners. In the end, it was previous course winner Elegant Erin who landed the spoils as the field were spread out across the track. The most interesting race was a five furlong novice which featured a handful of Newmarket representatives including John Gosden's filly Foretell, George Boughey's Tephi who is a half sister to top sprinter and sire Shalaa and James Ferguson's Impeachment who has finished placed in all three of her previous starts. It would be the Hasmonean Racing owned Impeachement who broke her maiden at the fourth attempt in a grandstand finish as she found a second wind to charge up the hill and deny Tephi.
Elsewhere on the card, there were wins for She's Got Bottle, who avoided a nasty incident featuring three horses unseating in the closing stages, to win under promising apprentice Taylor Fisher. All horses and riders emerged unscathed after the heart-stopping moment. Havana By The Sea landed the first of the novice races, building on his promise of an eyecatching run at York's Ebor Festival. The seven furlong fillies' novice went to Vetiver who went one place better than her runner up finish on debut with some ease. The older horse novice looked a golden opportunity for the frustrating Broadspear to win a race, but once again he had to settle behind eventual winner Frankendael.
*Please note I did not cover the final race of the card*
Race Winners:
She's Got Bottle (11) - Taylor Fisher - Roger Fell - Lethal Force x Lady Tabitha
Havana By The Sea (11) - Paul Hanagan - Craig Lidster - Havana Grey x Made of Talent
Vetiver (3) - PJ McDonald - Andrew Balding - Twilight Son x Poana
Impeachment (6) - Jason Hart - James Ferguson - Showcasing x Lawless Secret
Elegant Erin (2) - Graham Lee - Paul Midgley - Dandy Man x Eriniya
Frankendael (5) - David Allan - Tim Easterby - Camelot x Da'quonde