A GENTLE breeze cooled a perfect summer’s day for the large crowd who made their way to Les Landes for Ladies’ Day to see the Ravenscroft Jersey Oaks and four additional races supported by Ladbrokes.
Ladies entered the spirit of the occasion and many of the outfits would not been out of place at Royal Ascot; despite the soaring temperatures there were even smart gentlemen in jackets and ties.
With some exciting racing it all made for one of the best local sporting days of the year.
The Jersey Oaks was the most competitive renewals of the event with half the field well supported in the betting.
Chelsea Annie from Neil Mulholland’s stable shaded favouritism with Between The Covers, last year’s winner Nature and She’s A Mirage all well backed.
The race turned out as tight as the betting with Evening Song setting a strong pace and soon going ten lengths clear while Nature seemed unable to go the pace and was detached at the back.
As Evening Song approached the last three of the ten furlongs she began to tire and the field closed up; it looked anybody’s race as She’s a Mirage forged ahead a furlong and a half out, but she was getting tired and in a driving finish she just held on to win from the relatively unfancied Petite Fiammetta and Chelsea Annie.
Nature made up a lot of ground from impossibly far back, running better than the bare result indicates.
The winner is owned by Guernsey-based local bookie Trevor Gallienne, a great supporter of local racing, is trained by Alyson Malzard and was ridden by Fred Tett.
Tett followed up with another win in the next race, The Ladbrokes Ladies Day Handicap aboard another Malzard runner, Never Said Nothing.
And it was another close finish with Casaruan, ridden by Raul Da Silva, running probably his best ever race to get within three-quarters of a length of the winner, the pair three lengths clear of Akkeringa in third spot.
For five of the six furlongs of Ladbrokes New BGT Builder Sports Handicap, Profit And Loss trailed the field and it looked as if St Ouen would break Alyson Malzard’s stranglehold on sprint races.
But Victoria Malzard conjured a brilliant late run out of the favourite and he duly got up almost in the shadow of the post to beat the gallant St Ouen with Cool Dandy third.
The latter was the first ride in Jersey for Olivia Tubb and the combination seem sure to win before the end of the season.
Profit And Loss is clearly the best sprinter we have had in Jersey for some years and the handicapper must be scratching his head as to how to rate him.
Sumatran Tiger had a hard race in the Jersey Derby when second to Roi Du Monde, but she looked in great nick in the parade ring and duly took her revenge for that defeat in the hands of Raul Da Silva.
Taking up the running as the field turned for home, she made the most of her stamina to gallop on strongly to the line holding the late flourish of Nan Brady, running her best race to date.
Roi Du Monde was disappointing, but perhaps the Derby took its toll; he will bounce back.
Victoria Malzard had initiated a double in The Ladbrokes Is Where The Nation Plays Conditions Hurdle.
Princess T was odds on, as she was entitled to be but, somewhat surprisingly, Charlie Todd on board decided to make the running on the favourite and she was tiring as she approached the second last hurdle and Diplomatie, on whom Malzard had been happy to sit at the back, came with a strong run to forge ahead and, in the end, win comfortably.
So, four winners on the day for team Malzard, the one that got away, Sumatran Tiger, being trained by Karl Kukk.
The Best-Turned-Out awards went to the grooms respectively of Princess T, Timetodock, Evening Song, Birkie Boy and Sumatran Tiger.
Setting aside all modesty, your correspondent tipped the winners of the last four races in Saturday’s edition; followers landed the tote jackpot of £173.
The next meeting is on Bank Holiday Monday, 26 August.
This is normally the last fixture of the season, but as racing started in May and not at Easter there will be an additional and final meeting on 8 September.
