Tony Wells - Racegoers Club column June 2024
“We made so much noise, it was like we’d won the Oaks,” Ed Walker told me when I bumped into him at the Craven meeting. Our filly, Tayala, had won on her seasonal reappearance at Kempton Park the evening before. There were at least 25 of us from the Kingsdown Racing Club at Kempton supporting our filly and when she hit the front inside the final furlong, it was definitely not the quiet Wednesday night that is usually associated with the Sunbury course!
Whilst it would be lovely to be the sole owner of Tayala, there is something special about sharing an experience with a large group. Our racing club manager, Libby Snell, does a brilliant job organising us and it was a fantastic experience. Watching the replay, sipping a glass of champagne in the owners’ celebration room, with a group of like-minded individuals – what’s not to like?
This is our fifth season with Ed and several of us have been there since the start. I remember visiting Kingsdown for the first time in August 2020, as the country was still in the grip of Covid. My first impressions were of an extremely happy yard and that is exactly how it is every time we go there. Ed’s team are so welcoming and it’s great to catch up with other members, many of whom have become very good friends. I always leave Kingsdown feeling better than when I arrive.
Tenaya Canyon was our Racegoers Club horse and she was at Ed’s for three seasons, winning three times and picking up black type with three Listed places. She gave us some great days out at Deauville, Ayr’s Western meeting and 2,000 Guineas day at Newmarket. She returned to Whitsbury at the end of her four-year-old season and has recently had a filly foal by Havana Grey. We look forward to following her progress.
Tayala was superbly ridden by Saffie Osborne, who is developing into one of the most accomplished jockeys around. It was one of 17 winners for Saffie in April, making her Britain’s winning-most jockey in the month. One of those winners, Ten Bob Tony (what a great name), enabled Saffie to become the first female jockey to ride in the 2,000 Guineas. Ten Bob Tony finished down the field, but ran well enough to finish five lengths in front of City Of Troy. With Saffie, Hollie Doyle and several other women riding so well, surely it’s only a matter of time until one of them wins a Classic.
Ed’s good form in April continued into May and he had a notable double at HQ on 2,000 Guineas day. He wasn’t the only one to have a double though, as my good lady, Sarah and I managed to win the placepot on both Classic days. We’ve had some success with our joint placepots over the years, but I can’t recall us ever winning it on consecutive days. On both days, our individual placepots were losing bets, but by combining them we ended up collecting £369 on the Saturday and £244 on the Sunday. We did get lucky on the Saturday though, as we both chose the same losing selection in two races. So, our back up of selecting the favourite as our second choice kept us in it both times.
It was great to see Newmarket so busy. There was a real buzz of anticipation before the 2,000 Guineas, with racegoers expecting to see something special from City Of Troy. It wasn’t to be, as he fluffed his lines. But we may still have seen one of the best 2,000 Guineas fields for some time and I expect the main protagonists to light up the season in the months ahead.
As for the 1,000 Guineas, it was great to see Silvestre de Sousa win his first Classic on his return to Britain. I’ll be at Epsom for the Derby and Oaks, but I’m not sure if my fellow Kingsdown Racing Club members and I will make as much noise as we did on that Wednesday night at Kempton.