NEWS

Quality Card for Border Track this Saturday

Kelso’s third meeting of the season is on Saturday 8^th November, with an all quality card with the first race off at 12.30pm.  The feature race of the day is the Premier Traffic Management Handicap Steeple Chase with £10,000 added.  Garry Mansell and Premier Traffic have been regular supporters of the Border track and this highly respected company from County Durham have been rewarded with a very competitive entry for their 2m 6f Chase.  Scottish trainers have won four of the past seven runnings of this and Berwickshire-based Allie Tullie must have a chance of improving that record with home bred course specialist More Likely.  Keith Reveley has got son James booked for Jass, who has won a bumper and over hurdles at Kelso in the past.

Another regular sponsor at Kelso, Graeme Todd and his large party of friends from Edinburgh have sponsored at Kelso since 1997.  This haulage company support the feature Hurdle run over 2m 6f with £8,000 added.  Jimmy Moffat has been fairly firing in the winners lately and the Cartmel trainer is likely to saddle up recent Wetherby winner victor Kings Maiden.  It will be interesting to see which route Tony Martain takes with Green Mile as the Irish handler also has him entered over fences at Sandown.

David and Margaret Logan are one of Kelso’s longest standing sponsors and they return this year to support The Ship Inn Dalkeith, where they have been mine hosts for several years.

This is a race that has produced plenty of future stars including previous winner Monet’s Garden and Simply Supreme.  Midlothian-based George Foster, fresh from success with Lucky Dance at Newmarket last Saturday, has pencilled in Hurricane Warning while Ferdy Murphy and Howard Johnson have multiple entries for this 2m 6f event

Mikter Racing sponsor the 2m 1f Novices Handicap Chase.  With Im Your Man who has never come closer than sixth in three previous visits to Kelso and Evelyn Slack will be hoping her Appleby raider preforms better this time.  Peter Monteith’s Cast Ironey Casey is set to return to the Borders track having appeared at our first two meetings of the Autumn.

Kelso Racecourse are offering a special promotion for November meetings and attractive discounts - full details are on Kelso’s dynamic new website,  www.kelso-races .co.uk.  There is limited availabilty on this offer so it is on “first come first served basis”.

Kelso’s marketing arm with  the other four Scottish courses “Scottish Racing” won one of the most prestigious awards in the Tourist Industry, a Thistle Award at a glittering ceremony in Edinburgh last Friday night.  Horse racing has never featured in these awards before.  Jonathan Garrett said “I am overwhelmed by the honour of winning this Award, it is down to a lot of hard work and support from all five Scottish Racecourses”.

Another regular, The Harrow Hotel from Dalkeith, now in the ownership of Lee Boyle return to sponsor the Selling Hurdle, a race which always attracts a huge amount of interest.  Punters should be aware of this race as there have been 50-1, 25-1 and 18-1 winners in the past five years.  Maurice Barnes clearly fancies a crack at proceedings as Michael McAllister will ride either Haroum or Miss Tarantella for the Cumbrian trainer.  Find me would be an interesting runner if declared by Len Lungo.

The three mile one furlong Chase has attracted 17 entries.  Sandy Foster has entered Garleton, who has only been out of the three once in four chases, along with stablemate Treasured Memories.  Ferdy Murphy may be tempted to run Seize back over fences.

Kelso’s most respected racecourse bookmaker Bert Logan has stepped in to sponsor the Conditional Jockey Handicap Hurdle.  Bert will do the presentations himself to the winning connections.  A good race for fancied horses with only minor upset in the past nine years Peter Beaumont may run Cloudless Dawn, who was bred in the Borders by Dawn Goodfellow.  Keep an eye on Hawick visitor Mr Midaz as Donald Whillans gelding makes his first appearance since scoring at Wetherby in the Spring.

The ground at Kelso is better than it ever has been at this time of the year and Brian Meikle and his team of Logan Knox and David Greer have done a superb job in producing the course in such good condition.  It is sure to make huge interest in Kelso’s £100,000 fixture on Sunday 7^th December when the John Smiths Scottish Borders National takes centre stage.

For more information:
Richard Landale: 01668 281041
Jen Young or Trish Spours: 01668 280800 

NEXT RACE MEETING:    Friday 21st November     Gates Open: 10.15am  First Race: 12.15pm