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3rd September 2015 – For three years, Newmarket has opened its doors to the public for the action-packed Newmarket Open Day which has raised over £135,000 for local charities. Following a change in format whereby the event will now take place over two days, the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend on Saturday, 19th and Sunday, 20th September, includes a range of fantastic activities and entertainment for all the family to enjoy.
There will be a host of new events such as the Food and Drink Festival which will be located right at the heart of the action at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile and takes place over the two days. It will present the very best produce that the local area can offer and with over 30 bespoke stalls, visitors can sample the delectable delights from a range of exhibitors including La Hogue Farm Shop, Ely Fudge Company, Steak and Honour, Saffron Ice Cream and many more.
No East Anglian Food Festival would be complete without sausages and the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend certainly does not disappoint! On Sunday afternoon, local and regional producers will be going head to head in a not to be missed sausage competition. Each competitor will face the task of impressing our two main judges, British food critic Tom Parker Bowles and Investec Derby winning jockey and restaurateur Frankie Dettori.
The Weekend kicks off on Saturday at 9:30am with a chance to see top class racehorses put through their paces on the legendary Warren Hill Gallops. In addition there will be a number of equine sites available to visit throughout the day, including Tattersalls, The National Stud and Newmarket Equine Hospital. The Rowley Mile will then host a fabulous race meeting in the afternoon and will feature top trainers such as Sir Michael Stoute, William Haggas and John Gosden taking to the microphone and commentating on live racing. They have each been set up with an individual ‘Just Giving’ page to help fundraise for their dedicated charities; therefore all being well, their hard work will be rewarded!
The main highlight for many is the opportunity to get behind the scenes at Horseracing’s HQ and on Sunday from 9am to 12:30pm, many top trainers are opening their yards, giving visitors a unique chance to catch a glimpse of their equine heroes and meet some of the world’s most famous trainers. Godolphin’s two leading trainers, Saeed bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby, will open their yards to the public for the very first time. Godolphin, founded by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is the international horseracing stable which races in the famous Royal Blue silks. Visitors will be given the chance to be guided through the state of the art facilities at both Moulton Paddocks and Godolphin Stables.
Following the morning activities visitors can then return back to the Rowley Mile for an action packed afternoon of fun. Racing Personality Show Jumping is the feature entertainment of the day, with some of Newmarket’s best loved trainers and jockeys entered in the competition. Competitors include the likes of top jockey Andrea Atzeni, leading female jockey Hayley Turner and Classic winning trainer Roger Varian to name but a few. The Gymkhana will also take place on Sunday afternoon, alongside free on course entertainment including face painting and pony rides for children attending on the day.
“The Committee and I are busily putting in place the final preparations for the Open Weekend. Due to the enormous popularity of the Open Day we decided it was time to turn this jam packed day into a full weekend. It is sure to be a very entertaining weekend to all our visitors and we want to thank all of you in advance for supporting our three chosen charities. I am very much looking forward to welcoming you all to Newmarket this September.”
The Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend not only gives the public first-hand experience into the world of horseracing but it also provides a full weekend of unrivalled entertainment, all while raising funds for three excellent charities; The National Horseracing Museum, Racing Welfare, and Magpas – The Emergency Medical Charity. Children under 18 can visit Saturday of the Open Weekend for free and children under 13 go free on Sunday. For more information, including a full schedule of events, and to book tickets please visit phpstack-25489-1437829.cloudwaysapps.com” Sara Cumani, Chairman of Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend
Just Giving pages for the Newmarket trainers who will be commentating are as follows:
Charlie Fellowes https://www.justgiving.com/Charlie-Fellowes/
David Simcock https://www.justgiving.com/Trainer-David-Simcock/
Hugo Palmer https://www.justgiving.com/Hugo-Palmer/
John Gosden https://www.justgiving.com/John-Gosden/
Lucy Wadham https://www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Wadham/
Sir Michael Stoute https://www.justgiving.com/Sir-Michael-Stoute/
William Haggas https://www.justgiving.com/William-Haggas/
The Betfair Open Weekend 2015 is in aid of our three chosen charities:
Children under 18 years of age can visit Saturday of the Open Weekend for free and children under 13 years of age can visit Sunday of the Open Weekend for free. For more information, a full schedule and to purchase tickets for the Open Weekend please visit our website phpstack-25489-1437829.cloudwaysapps.com.
NOW Food & Drink Festival
This year the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend will incorporate the very first Food & Drink Festival. The Food Festival will be located right at the heart of the action at the Rowley Mile racecourse for both days of the Open Weekend. The course will play host to over 30 bespoke stalls, accessible from all enclosures, including La Hogue Farm Shop, Ely Fudge Company, Steak and Honour, Saffron Ice Cream and many more. The NOW Food & Drink Festival will also include it’s very own Sausage Competition on Sunday afternoon, where local producers will showcase their produce.
For a full list of exhibitors confirmed for the NOW Food & Drink Festival, please visit the Newmarket Open Weekend website https://thehenrycecilopenweekend.co.uk/more-information/food-festival/.
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On Saturday, 19th September, the first day of the inaugural Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend, racegoers will be treated to exclusive on course commentary for all seven races. A handful of Newmarket based trainers have agreed to commit to learning the art of commentating all in aid of the beneficiaries of the Open Weekend; The National Horseracing Museum, Racing Welfare and Magpas: The Emergency Medical Charity.
Sir Michael Stoute, one of the trainers for Her Majesty The Queen, is set to be ahead of the field having previously spent three years commentating in his home country, Barbados. Joining Sir Michael will be John Gosden and William Haggas, who between them trained the first three across the line in the Investec Derby this year. Group 1 winning trainer David Simcock will also be taking to the commentary position for the first time alongside the up and coming Charlie Fellowes and recent Classic winning trainer Hugo Palmer. Dual purpose trainer Lucy Wadham will be the sole female commentator and she completes the line-up.
Hugo Palmer, resident trainer at Kremlin Cottage Stables and trainee commentator, said;
“I am delighted to see that the Open Day has evolved into the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend. The weekend is a wonderful opportunity for Newmarket, the Home of Horseracing, to showcase the fantastic facilities that are available here.
“I have never commentated on live racing before but I’m sure we will see some healthy rivalry on the day and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
These trainers may be masters of the turf but do know that calling a race will be by no means an easy task. Each trainer will undergo rigorous training and will receive some of the very best advice on offer from industry professionals in a bid to try and ensure a flawless commentating performance for their allocated race.
Amy Starkey, Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses, East Region, said;
“We are very thankful to the trainers who are taking the time to be part of this great initiative. It’s going to be a fantastic experience to both seasoned and novice racegoers on course and all proceeds raised will go to very worthy causes.
“The inaugural Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend is going to be such a fantastic occasion with lots of different aspects available for all the family to enjoy.”
Each trainer has a Just Giving page and has been randomly selected to represent one of the three chosen charities associated with this year’s Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend. If you simply can’t choose who to support, you can always donate via https://www.justgiving.com/teams/NOW2015.
Tickets are still available for both days with kids under 18 going FREE on the Saturday and under 13s going FREE on the Sunday.
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The Qatar Goodwood Festival, affectionately known as Glorious Goodwood, signed off as yet another fantastic week of racing at the beautiful course, but it was especially fantastic for our own Newmarket trainers as the Newmarket handlers boasted an incredible 32% strike rate from all races throughout the week with big race successes to boot.
Both two-year-old Group 2s were secured; firstly by Hugo Palmer, as Galileo Gold showed his class in the Vintage Stakes before Shalaa turned the Richmond Stakes into a procession for John Gosden proving himself to be one of, if not, the best two-year-old colt in Britain and a future sprinting champion in the making. On the subject of sprinters, William Haggas’ charge Muthmir, defied a 4lb penalty to post a career best performance when taking the extremely valuable King George Stakes on Friday; he will now tackle the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York later this month.
In the most exciting race of the week, Ed Dunlop’s Trip To Paris was narrowly beaten as Michael Bell’s Big Orange showed plenty of zest to pip the gallant Gold Cup winner in an epic Goodwood Cup. Meanwhile, Arod, representing Peter Chapple-Hyam, lost little in defeat as he went down by less than a length in the feature Qatar Sussex Stakes to the best Miler in Europe, Solow and Chapple-Hyam has big plans for the son of Teofilo.
Elsewhere, Roger Varian had two winners; Luca Cumani backed up his King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes success with victory in the opening race of the meeting with Mount Logan; Sir Michael Stoute’s Dartmouth scored for Her Majesty the Queen; Marco Botti’s Golden Steps supplied yet another winner for the effervescent Frankie Dettori and the Godolphin two-year-old train rolled on, with Folkswood running out an impressive winner for Charlie Appleby.
All in all, it was a week to savour and many congratulations to all involved. As the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend creeps ever closer (19th and 20th September), make sure you buy your tickets so that you have the unbelievable chance to see so many of these incredible horses at their trainer’s yards.
Photo credit: https://www.goodwood.com
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The Jockey Club Rooms
Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend Dinner
A Taste of East Anglia
Local Food Stations
Please help yourself from our food stations:
Suffolk Sausages
Musks, Powters and Dingley Dell Sausages
Creamy Mashed Potato, Red Onion Gravy
Local Mustards and Pickles
Local Roasted Carving Boards
Roasted Rib of Dedham Vale Beef Station
Roasted Loin of Dingley Dell Pork Station
Local Vegetables, Potatoes and Homemade Condiments
Norfolk and Suffolk Seafood Delicacies
Cromer Crabs and Norfolk Oysters
Selection of Salads and Side Dishes
to include Suffolk Chorizo and
Wobbly Bottom Goats Cheese
Desserts
Homemade, Artisan Desserts
Seasonal Fruit
Local Cheeses
Rich, Flavoursome Local Cheeses
Suffolk Chutneys and Water Biscuits
Dinner
£48 Per Person (excludes drinks)
Dinner and Stay
£170 Single l £305 Double (includes dinner)
To Book
T: 01638 663101 l E: enquiries@jockeyclubrooms.co.uk
Find out more about some of their brilliant suppliers…
Dingley Dell Pork (Suffolk) Cheeses and Charcuterie (Cambridge)
http://www.dingleydell.com/ http://www.cheese-plus.co.uk/
Dedham Vale Beef (Suffolk) Locally Sourced Fresh Food (Norfolk)
http://www.directmeats.co.uk/ http://www.accentfresh.co.uk/
Newmarket Sausages Newmarket Sausages
https://www.musks.com/ http://www.powters.co.uk/
The standout star of the 2015 flat season, Golden Horn, trained by Newmarket handler John Gosden, unfortunately missed out on the chance to add yet another Group 1 string to his bow last Saturday. The Investec Derby winner was withdrawn from the race following a torrential day of rain on Friday that left the ground at Ascot unsuitably soft. However, that did not mean we were not treated to a pulsating King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, as the Luca Cumani trained Postponed edged out John Gosden’s more than able deputy, Eagle Top, in a rip roaring finish.
Having hit the crossbar in the King George on a number of occasions during an illustrious career, Newmarket stalwart Luca Cumani has finally won the famous race to secure an extremely well deserved Group 1 for the Newmarket trainer. Postponed will now attempt to become the first Newmarket trained winner of the Qatar Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, since Sir Michael Stoute won the race with Workforce in 2010.
As another week of top class racing begins Newmarket Open Weekend would like to wish all of the Newmarket trainers’ good luck on the Sussex Downs at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, particularly in Wednesday’s valuable Qatar Sussex Stakes, as Arod (Peter Chapple-Hyam) and Belardo (Roger Varian) attempt to gun down the high class French gelding, Solow. The newlywed Classic winning trainer Hugo Palmer looks to continue to ride the crest of a wave at Goodwood this week. The likes of Ascription and Galileo Gold are looking to follow in the hoof prints of Covert Love, who ran out an impressive winner of the Irish Oaks at the Curragh followed swiftly by his stablemate Home of The Brave who capped a fantastic weekend for the trainer when winning the Minstrel Stakes.
Make sure to buy your tickets online for the Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend which takes place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th of September, where visitors will get the rare opportunity to see amazing Group 1 horses such as Postponed and Covert Love at their trainer’s yards.
Photo Credit: @lucacumani
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The Moët & Chandon July Festival kicks off today at Newmarket’s July Course. The July Festival runs over three days, Thursday 9th to Saturday 11th July, and boats a strong list of entries from Newmarket yards. All of the top Newmarket trainers are well represented over the weekend and each will be hoping for success at their local track.
One of the feature races for today is the Grp 2 Arqana July Stakes in which Godolphin’s leading trainer Saeed Bin Suroor runs current second favourite Steady Pace. Steady Pace holds good form going into the race and is yet to finish outside the top three placings. Ed Walker and John Gosden are also represented in this competitive juvenile contest with Experto Crede and Shalaa respectively.
Sir Michael Stoute is launching a double attack today in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes (Grp 2) with stable companions Gospel Choir and Grp 1 winner Hillstar. Newmarket trained runners make up all but one of the eight declared to run in the race which includes; Second Step (Luca Cumani), Ayrad (Roger Varian), Big Orange (Michael Bell), Sheikhzayedroad (David Simcock) and the unbeaten Mahsoob (John Gosden).
The Qipco Falmouth Stakes boats an impressive line-up of runners in this year’s renewal of the Grp 1 contest on Friday. Sir Michael Stoute’s top class filly Integral will be aiming to reclaim her crown and win the race for the second consecutive year. She will face tough competition though from a strong French contingency of runners, as well as 1000 Guineas runner up Lucida. Marco Botti also has two runners in the race, Euro Charline and Lady Dutch, whilst David Elsworth has entered Arabian Queen.
The Darley July Cup, the feature race of the meeting, takes place on Saturday. Australian trainer Chris Waller runs favourite Brazen Beau for new owners Godolphin in this hot contest and there is a strong number of Irish horses entered for the Grp 1 sprint race. Irish trainer Eddie Lynam won this race last year with Slade Power and he will be hoping to do the same again this year with either Sole Power or Anthem Alexander. Newmarket are represented with a total of three runners in the race; Steps (Roger Varian), Muthmir (William Haggas) and Casper Netscher (David Simcock).
Newmarket Open Weekend would like to wish all of the Newmarket trainers the best of luck over the coming days with their runners at Newmarket and across the rest of the country.
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Newmarket yards have been hitting the headlines thanks to some outstanding victories in both Britain and Ireland over the past few weeks.
The decision to supplement Trip To Paris for the Gold Cup on the Thursday of Royal Ascot paid off in dividends as the gelding scored under Grand National winning jockey Graham Lee to land flat racing’s most prestigious long distance race for trainer Ed Dunlop and team. Following the Group 1 success connections are now considering the long journey to Australia for the Emirates Melbourne Cup, where Ed Dunlop has been runner up an incredible three times with stable star Red Cadeaux.
Jack Hobbs and Storm The Stars proved the strong form from the Investec Derby when each going one better in the Irish Derby at the Curragh Racecourse. An absent Golden Horn allowed the blue silks of Godolphin to storm clear across the line with an impressive victory for Jack Hobbs in the Classic. William Haggas’ Storm The Stars followed in second place and will now be aimed at the St Ledger at the end of the season.
John Gosden’s stable remain in top form and chose to stay on British soil with their stable star, Investec Derby winner Golden Horn who went on to win the Group 1 Coral Eclipse at Sandown Park Racecourse on Saturday last. Golden Horn powered home past his elder rivals under what was another fantastic ride from jockey Frankie Dettori.
Another huge congratulations to all of the Newmarket trainers. The Open Weekend which takes place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September gives visitors the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and the chance to meet all of their equine heroes as well as enjoying all the entertainment being held throughout the weekend including Racing at the Rowley Mile on the Saturday. Make sure to click on our about page to find out more about our new Food and Drinks Festival.
Photo credit to Racingfotos
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There is no race meeting like it anywhere in the world, with her Majesty the Queen attending every day to watch champion racehorses compete head to head over the week.
Today is the first day of Royal Ascot and one of our confirmed trainers to open at NOW (19th and 20th September), Simon Crisford, will be hoping for a good run from his first ever runner at the meeting First Selection in the Grp 2 Coventry Stakes. Other confirmed trainers to open at NOW include Roger Varian who saddles Steps in the Grp 1 King’s Stand and last year’s top class juvenile Belardo in the St James’s Palace Stakes today. Belardo is one of four Newmarket trained horses in the six horse race and will face tough competition from Aktabantay (Hugo Palmer), Latharnach (Charlie Appleby) and Consort (Sir Michael Stoute).
Luca Cumani will also be opening his yard this September and on Thursday will be aiming for wins with his two big runners Panoma and Mizzou. Mizzou is not the only Newmarket entry in the Gold Cup with Ed Dunlop and his recent Chester Cup winner Trip To Paris, the Marco Botti trained Tac De Boistron and John Gosden’s Forever Now all hoping to be crowned champion in the feature race of the day.
Newmarket is well represented for the entire meeting and the last two days will include Hugo Palmer’s other big Grp 1 hopes Home Of The Brave and New Providence, as well as Martyn Meade’s impressive filly Irish Rookie.
We would like to wish all of the Newmarket trainers and runners the best of luck at Royal Ascot this week. The Betfair Newmarket Open Weekend gives everyone the chance to catch a glimpse at these top class contenders and we look forward to welcoming you all to horseracing’s HQ come September.
Photo Credit: Ascot Racecourse
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This weekend further highlighted the top class reputation that precedes the Newmarket training scene. A strong crowd of 125,000 were on course last Saturday to watch Newmarket trained horses fill the first three places in the Investec Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
Golden Horn, trained by John Gosden, cruised to victory in the Classic ahead of his stable companion Jack Hobbs, producing the first British trained colt to win the race in five years. The winning horse, owned and bred by Mr Andrew Oppenheimer, stormed to the lead in the closing furlongs and claimed a second win in the race for the legendary jockey and Derby Ambassador, Frankie Dettori. William Haggas completed the winning line up with a solid performance from Storm The Stars.
Newmarket had strong representation across the entire weekend with Lady of Dubai, trained by Luca Cumani, running a terrific race to finish third in the Investec Oaks. Newmarket Open Weekend (Saturday19th and Sunday 20th September) gives all in attendance the rare opportunity to see behind the scenes at many of Newmarket trainers’ yards and see first-hand the work that is involved in producing Champion racehorses.
Newmarket Open Weekend would like to congratulate all of the Newmarket trainers on their brilliant performances over the weekend and look forward to more great results over the season.
Photo Credit: Epsom Downs Racecourse
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Newmarket will be well represented in this weekend’s Investec Derby Festival. Sir Michael Stoute will be hoping for his third win in the Investec Oaks with current second favourite Crystal Zvezda, an impressive winner last time out in a listed race at Newbury. Luca Cumani, a confirmed trainer to open his yard at this year’s Newmarket Open Weekend, has declared Lady Of Dubai and John Gosden is set to run his two star fillies, Jazzi Top and Star Of Seville, in what will be a very competitive renewal of the race.
On Saturday all eyes will turn to the greatest flat race in the world, the Investec Derby. John Gosden holds the current favourite and second favourite for the race with Golden Horn and Jack Hobbs. Both have strong form going into the race with Golden Horn getting the better of his stable companion, Jack Hobbs, when winning the Dante at York. Other Newmarket trainers in the race include Godolphin runner Best Of Times trained by Saeed bin Suroor and the William Haggas trained Storm The Stars.
Other Newmarket horses aiming for Grp 1 glory on Saturday include Romsdal (John Gosden), Ayrad (Roger Varian) and Sheikhzayedroad (David Simcock) in the Investec Coronation Cup.
Best of luck to all of the Newmarket trainers and their runners this weekend!
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