EASTER ACTION AT FAKENHAM AS VETERANS CHASE £30,000 PRIZE
The £30,000 David Keith Memorial Veterans Chase is the feature of the seven-race Aldiss Family Raceday at Fakenham on Easter Monday.
There are 14 entries for the three-mile chase off at 3.20pm in front of what hopefully will be a bumper Bank Holiday crowd.
Bermeo, trained by Harry Fry, a recent Newbury winner, Brianstan from Venetia Williams’ stable, former course and distance winner Potters Legend representing Lucy Wadham and Olly Murphy’s Calypso Collonges, another former Fakenham winner, are among those entered.
Racing begins at 1pm with conditional jockeys in the Mama J 60th Birthday Celebration Chase in which Seamus Mullins has entered ultra consistent En Coeur while Theo Gillard has been booked to ride Donald McCain’s Wincanton weekend runner-up, Obey The Rules.
The 1.35pm Bruce Towers and Fisher Mechanical Services Juvenile Hurdle has eight entries including three last time runners-up in Royle Street, representing Micky Hammond, Harty Parisian from the stable of Milton Harris and Olly Murphy’s Parliament Hill.
Frankel gelding Restitution, trained by Alan King was a course winner at the last meeting and returns for the Cecil and Sheila Buttefant Memorial Hurdle while Dan Skelton has Sofia’s Rock and Paul Nicholls has Birds of Prey in the 2.45pm Aldiss Furnishing Stores Seniors Hurdle.
Not That Fuisse won for Skelton at the last meeting and is back for the 3.55pm Queen’s Cup Open Hunter Chase while the 4.30pm finale is the Fisher Electrical Contractors Mares’ Bumper in which Nicky Henderson has Queens Rock.
The Easter Monday meeting will be the last from Fakenham to be shown live on Sky Sports Racing as Fakenham has joined Racecourse Media Group. From May all meetings at the course will be broadcast on Racing TV.
The deal means the track becomes a shareholder in RMG until the end of 2028.
The first meeting under the new deal is on May 3 and features the Norfolk National.
Fakenham chief executive and clerk of the course, David Hunter, said: “We are excited to be joining RMG and to be in partnership with many other like-minded small independent racecourses, alongside the larger independents and Jockey Club Racecourses.
“We have an excellent relationship with At The Races and Sky Sports Racing which goes back many years, however, my directors feel now is the right time for Fakenham to make a change and we believe joining RMG will ensure we will continue to provide good quality grassroots National Hunt racing with good prizemoney.”
