A regular racing tradition is the Bank Holiday race days around the country which are so well attended. Racing returned to the Westwood as Beverley hosted its popular May Day race day filled with plenty of good action on the track. 
It has been a brilliant twelve months for the East Yorkshire venue as they broke into the top ten of best racecourses in Britain based on customer experience. The racecourse has also seen facilities upgraded over the winter and have also joined forces to provide valuable initiatives throughout this season. The popular Sky Bet Sunday Series rolls into town later this year and today also saw the start of a brand new partnership with Juddmonte, the world renowned bloodstock operation. The opening juvenile contest is part of a new series to provide connections with a valuable prize and much needed boost for the British breeding scene. The class two sprint kicked off a seven race meeting which was watched by a healthy crowd.

RACE ONE: The Juddmonte EBF Restricted Maiden Stakes - Class Two - Five Furlongs - 12 Runners.
Winner: NELLIE LEYLAX (Calyx x Lovelocks) - P-L. Jamin - T. Dascombe - #2
The first race of the day was also the most valuable with first place taking home a cool £16,000. The new initiative is supported by Juddmonte and is part of a season-long series with races run at other courses around the country. Understandably, the two-year-old contest was well supported and saw a host of well bred newcomers and others who had shown immense promise on debut. It would set up an exciting contest with plenty to make notes of for future reference.
Amongst those with racing experience already, the Michael Bell-trained juvenile Ponga finished second to a smart prospect on debut at Kempton, while the David O'Meara trained Scoops Ahoy also finished runner-up recently, this time at Beverley where he showed bags of promise. Some interesting newcomers took to the racetrack for the first time and they included Nellie Leylax for the Tom Dascombe stable, Richard Fahey's Up The Jazz and the Nick Bradley Racing owned pair of Port And Starburd and Bazball.
The leading protagonists in the race came to the fore, but they both had to settle for the podium places as the race was won impressively by the newcomer Nellie Leylax. The early pace looked honest from the start as Scoops Ahoy held an uncontested lead. As many of his rivals raced greenly, the David O'Meara youngster burst into a clear lead from Ponga. From way off the pace, Nellie Leylax made eye-catching progress and emerged from the pack to challenge inside the final furlong. As the leading pair battled it out, they pulled clear of the third place horse. Nellie Leylax kept on best of all to make a winning debut. The nature of the track at Beverley means it is rare for horses to win from so far back, so this was a performance to mark up as a smart one. The bay colt provided first season sire Calyx with another winner in the UK and he comes from a well bred family of winning miler Shikami. The stable are often renowned for high class juveniles, so Nellie Leylax is one to follow for the rest of the season. 

RACE TWO: The "We Love A Bank Holiday" Handicap - Class Five - Five furlongs - 8 Runners.
Winner: MISS BRAZEN (Brazen Beau x Quelle Affaire) - J. Mason - M & D. Easterby - #2
The second race saw the turn of the three-year-olds with a smart looking handicap in which many were making their seasonal debut and others showed the potential for better now in handicap company. It looked a tricky puzzle to solve for punters but there was plenty of quality for the class five grade.

The Michael Dods stable is always respected on the Westwood and they were represented by the consistent Zuffolo. Amognst the dangers included top weight Herakles, winner on his second start, and Tasever who ran well without winning at the end of last year.

The handicap would be turned into a relative procession courtesy of the winner Miss Brazen, who won in the style of a horse much better than a class five level horse. The filly travelled smoothly throughout the contest and was easy to spot when Jo Mason eased her mount to the left hand flank of the group. Releasing the handbrake just before the final furlong, the daughter of Brazen Beau charged up the rising ground to win by four lengths. She would return a well fancied winner in the betting after a switch of stables in the winter. Miss Brazen had won twice for Karl Burke last year, but the move to the shrewd yard of Mick and David Easterby looked an interesting one. On stable debut, she showed promise in defeat and appreciated the better ground here. The stable are regular visitors and winners at Beverley so it will be expected to see Miss Brazen back on the Westwood in the near future. Back in second was the regularly placed Tasever and Herakles showed promise on his return in third. 

RACE THREE: The In The Box With Martin Spencer Handicap - Class Five - Seven Furlongs - 9 Runners 
Winner: RIVER USK (Dandy Man x Clytha) - O. Orr - R. Fahey - #6
The second consecutive three-year-old only handicap saw a similarly competitive field and a tricky race to solve for punters. Recent winning form was in short supply, but the majority of the runners had run well recently with a lot of placings between them. Connections of the runners were hoping to kick on this year with their charges after expectations may not have been met so far. 
The Richard Fahey-trained River Usk was strongly fancied in the betting to gain a first win of his career having gone close on his last three starts. The stable of Tim Easterby has been going well in recent days and they were doubly represented by Vince Le Prince and new arrival Sunny Orange, a well bred but disappointing castoff from the Juddmonte operation. 
In another wide margin win, River Usk broke his maiden tag at the seventh time of asking with a dominant performance. From the moment the gates opened, Oisin Orr was positive on the gelded three-year-old and they made all the running. Winding the pace up at the bottom of the hill, River Usk kicked on into a clear lead and couldn't be caught. Galloping on further and further to win by just under four lengths. It was a well deserved win for the son of Dandy Man who runs in the familiar colours of Steve Bradley. River Usk had finished in the first three on his previous three starts. His rating was unchanged after finishing second on seasonal reappearance and that made all the difference. 
Sunny Orange raced in second throughout the contest and plugged on to hold second place in an encouraging debut for the Tim Easterby stable while Ludo's Landing stayed on into third, a good effort as he was carrying top weight. 

RACE FOUR: The Support Independent Racecourse Fillies' Handicap - Class Five - Seven Furlongs - 7 Runners
Winner:  JAZZ SAMBA (El Kabeir x Sensational Samba) - J. Mason - M & D. Easterby - #7
Many of the fillies lining up in this low grade contest were making their return to the turf after a productive spell on the artificial surfaces throughout the winter. It led to another event with little to split the runners and an exciting race was in store. Glory And Gold looked to be an interesting debutante for the Patrick Morris stable as the filly had won at Catterick last October for the powerful William Haggas stable. The lightly raced trio of Jazz Samba, Gentle Ellen and Karatayka all posed as dangers in the field.
There would be another impressive winning performance for the Mick and David Easterby stable as Jazz Samba landed the handicap in nice fashion. Completing a double for the yard and jockey Jo Mason, it was almost a carbon copy of her earlier winner as Jazz Samba challenged from the wide outside and finished strongly down the center of the track. The good looking grey filly was making her seasonal reappearance but was clearly fit enough to win well. She had previous track experience when second last year and that experience was put to good use to win for the first time in her career. A nasty incident followed the race as Jazz Samba kicked out in the winners' enclosure, catching Jo Mason and causing a slight injury which led to her missing the rest of the meeting. 

RACE FIVE: The Dacre Arms Handicap - Class Six - Seven Furlongs - 14 Runners.
Winner: SWINGING EDDIE (Swiss Spirit x Bling Bling) - O. Stammers - G. Tuer - #1
The largest field of the day came in this seven furlong handicap and as always with Beverley, the draw would be a vital component to the outcome of the race. The Brian Ellison-trained mare Reclaim Victory had been in great form on the all-weather but was making a return to the track for the first time since January. Previous course winner Clotherholme held valuable experience on the unique track and Makalu lurked on a dangerous rating for his new yard, the shrewd Ruth Carr. 
There would be an exciting finish as the majority of the field were still bunched up in the final half furlong. One Hart attempted to make all the runner and with the running rail to guide him, he had most of his rivals in trouble. In the centre, Swinging Eddie emerged to challenge and the two stablemates went eye-to-eye in the final stages. A great battle took place up the run in as Makalu threw his hat into the ring too. 
In a thrilling head-bobber, it would be a one-two finish for the Grant Tuer stable and Swinging Eddie who put his nose in front where it mattered to deny One Hart by a short head. Regardless of the finishing order, it was still a win for the Grant Tuer stable in a memorable finish. Makalu could only manage third for Ruth Carr and Distinction flew home into fourth. 

RACE SIX: The Brian Dixon Memorial Handicap - Class Five - One Mile -  7 Runners

Winner: ON THE RIVER (Heeraat x Ladt Lekki) - C. Hardie - H. Bethell - #5
What this handicap lacked for quantity, it made up for with quality. The contest over a mile played host to some very smart names for the grade, ones who were operating at a higher level not so long ago. Recent winner at Pontefract, the Harriet Bethell-trained On The River, brought good recent form to the table while the Horsewatchers; well known for their smart purchases, ran two in their colours. Nasim hasn't progressed as expected but an upturn in form is always around the cornner and stablemate Intervention has been very busy over the winter. Asdaa ran in the colours of the Owners Group while Cubana Havana, Motarajel and three time Beverley winner Ugo Gregory completed the line-up. 
In another exciting finish, On The River would follow up his recent win at Pontefract with a second win of the year at a unique racecourse. At Pontefract, he returned a slightly surprising winner, but today he was very well fancied under jockey Cam Hardie. Another horse to improve for a new stable, the popular racing family, the Bethells, have another shrewd purchase to their armory. Bought for just £8,000, On The River has more than returned that lump sum and looks set to continue his progress. The lightly raced four-year-old was clearly very unexposed and could even go in again. Kicking clear in the final furlong, it looked as if the race was already sewn up. Multiple Beverley winner Ugo Gregory finally found daylight and rallied with a big challenge close home, gaining ground with each stride. The line came just in time for the connections of On The River and his punters as they both collected their winnings. 

RACE SEVEN: The Racing Again On Tuesday 16 May Handicap - Class Six - 1 Mile, 2 Furlongs - 7 Runners

Winner: BLUE YONDER (Gutaifan x Senafe) - O. Orr - R. Fahey - #7
Another tight three-year-old handicap in which many runners were making their handicap debuts and had the potential to improve for a longer distance. King Harry looked an interesting handicap debutant for the Gemma Tutty who enjoyed a brilliant spell with Mostly Cloudy, winner of six races in a row last year for the same owners.  Greek Siren was another to appreciate the step up in trip as a half sister to plenty of middle distance winners. 
Another well backed favourite returned home the winner at Beverley, this time in the shape of the roan Blue Yonder for owners Middleham Park Racing. It would be yet another first time winner as the son of Gutaifan finally built on his promise and smart breeding. A son of a smart mare who won over a mile and was placed in a German Guineas, Blue Yonder was always expected to improve for a longer trip. Facing ten furlongs for the first time, he relished the extra yardage to grind his rivals into the ground. Making all the running under Oisin Orr, it was a near perfect copy of stablemate River Usk's victory a few hours before. The Charlie Johnston-trained Khal gave chase in vain, but he hung to the left and ended up on the stands side rail to take second place. Angel de Luz finished third after running just over twenty-four hours previously in another game effort.