Fast Results
Scores
Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival: Full details and horses to follow
We caught up with some of the trainers and jockeys who nominated their horses to follow throughout the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival.
Now in its 16th year, the Summer Festival – backed by Sky Bet – features 10 race meetings across nine days in the county of Yorkshire and includes fun for all the family, several music nights and raffles with some exclusive prizes on offer as well.
The Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival is this year focused on Graham Lee and his family, with funds raised going towards the Matt Hampson Foundation, a Leicestershire based organisation where Graham spends a two-week block every month for intensive rehab.
As well as the traditional exit collections, competing jockeys will also join the fundraising through the Sky Bet Paddock & Chips competition which see riders at the various courses attempt to chip footballs into goals of varying sizes.
Scroll down for more details of what’s on and when during the festival, but here are the horses to following from some of Yorkshire’s finest…
Sean Quinn (Joint-trainer)
Sporting Life – "He made his debut at Beverley a couple of weeks ago, missed the break and just got stopped in his run a bit around halfway. We’ve stepped him up in trip to six furlongs at Pontefract and hopefully he'll show a bit more.
Due For Luck – "He also runs at Pontefract on Friday night. He disappointed at Haydock last time but he's done that there before and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he bounced back."
One More Dream – "He runs in the final race on Friday and is capable of winning off his mark. The drier the ground the better for him so hopefully this sunshine continues."
Joanna Mason (Jockey)
This Years Love – "Pontefract will really suit him and he’s probably still crying out for even further than a mile. Hopefully in the end they don’t nick him for jumping as I quite like him! I think he's a good chance of mine on quite a busy Friday night."
Sondad – "He's in at Ripon on Saturday and has run just once this season when fourth at Doncaster. He is sure to come on for that as he's a nice big horse. We'll see if he handles the track."
Dawn Of Liberation – "He’s got some ability and has form on the all-weather but has been a bit unlucky a few times since joining Ruth (Carr). Everything needs to roll right for him but he's capable."
Steve Brown (Assistant trainer to Julie Camacho)
Makanah – "He's our one runner at Pontefract on Friday night and he runs in the feature sprint handicap. He ran in the Gosforth Park Cup last time and he just wasn't 100% when he came home but he's fine now and I can see him running well. All his life he's wanted to go a bit left-handed so the rail there could help him well and he's drawn close to it. He's a capable horse and run most of his life in the big handicaps. The stiff five and small field makes sense so he might be one that people overlook."
Pearl Abbey - "She is a little filly who won on the all-weather over the winter and has just been working her way back into form, not beaten far at Newcastle last time. She's in an apprentice handicap at Doncaster on Saturday and is ridden by Tom Kiely-Marshall who gets on well with her."
Calder Valley - "He wouldn't want the ground too quick but is worth keeping an eye out for. We really like him and I'm sure we've not seen the best of him yet. He had a few runs over the winter over seven furlongs but when he gets a mile I think we'll see a different animal. He's a horse we like."
Mark Walford (Trainer)
Exceed Now - "He's a horse we picked up from the Newmarket sales just on Tuesday night. I spoke to Roger Varian who we bought him off and he was fairly positive but I can't say too much other than he seems to go well. He's only had three runs and has a rating of just 68. If he doesn't run well at Doncaster on Saturday then he definitely will run well in the near future."
Treble Winners - "This is a two-year-old colt who has only run once. He ran quite nicely first time out at Newcastle and that will have brought him on. I'd expect him to run well but he might just be one to look out for in handicaps further down the line too."
Fortuitous Star - "She ran at Catterick last time and it was her first run for a while. We're stepping her up to a mile and she'll probably be any price you like but she's actually been going reasonably well since the last outing so we're hoping for a decent run from her."
Adrian Keatley (Trainer)
Goal Line - "He's going to run at Beverley on Monday and he's a nice colt. We got him at the breeze-ups and he's well bred. If he doesn't win a novice then he should be winning a nursery."
Ruth Carr (Trainer)
Makalu - "He's in the form of his life and won at Ayr on Monday having been second at Ripon last week. He won over seven at Ayr so maybe a mile at Pontefract won't play to his strengths but he's in front of the handicapper we feel and he's in good form so we're hoping to strike while the iron is hot.
Lord Protector - "He was second in the Zetland Gold Cup at Redcar and was then second at Chelmsford before being a bit disappointing in a hot handicap at Newcastle on Plate day. We're stepping him up in trip which we expect will suit and hopefully he has a bit of a chance."
Jojo Rabbit - "He won at Doncaster last week and we're actually able to drop in grade back there on Saturday due to a small quirk in the handicapping system and how it works on a Saturday. We'll claim off him and hopefully he can run well again."
Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival
Full schedule:
- Friday July 19 – Pontefract (Evening), Oasis tribute band Definitely Mightbe performing after racing
- Saturday July 20 – Ripon
- Saturday July 20 – Doncaster (Evening), 80s Rewind after racing
- Sunday July 21 – Redcar, Circus Family Fun Day
- Monday July 22 – Beverley (Evening)
- Wednesday July 24 – Catterick, Family Fun Day
- Thursday July 25 – Doncaster
- Friday July 26 – Thirsk, Family Fun Day
- Friday July 26 – York (Evening), Kaiser Chiefs performing after racing
- Saturday July 27 – York, S Club performing after racing
Full details:
There are a number of themes that tie the week together including a leading trainer, jockey and best-turned-out yard competition, moment of the day/week and new for this year, Sky Bet are giving every winning horse a bag of carrots!
Sponsored by Sky Bet who give a cash prize to share between the staff and organise a pizza party to celebrate, the best-turned-out winner is determined by the yard that is awarded the most best-turned-out prizes in the Sky Bet-sponsored races throughout the nine days.
Winning owners of every race receive a bottle of branded champagne to mark their win at the Summer Festival, while there is a prize for the leading trainer of the week, sponsored by Goldsborough Hall, which includes an overnight stay and dinner for two at the Stately Home.
Starting on the Friday night at Pontefract and open until the Friday of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival on August 23, GRIY will also be running a raffle with a one-of-a-kind prize to win a shoe from Yorkshire-based 2023 Group 1 sprinters Highfield Princess, Shaquille, Regional and Art Power. These are mounted on a beautiful piece of Wych Elm and engraved. Tickets cost £5 each and can be purchased through Crowdfunder. Funds raised will go towards the Matt Hampson Foundation.
Sky Bet are also sponsoring a race on behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation to help them raise awareness and Matt himself will be attending York on Saturday July 27.
In conjunction with the Injured Jockeys Fund, Thirsk will be hosting a charity race for stable staff before the main card starts on Friday July 26. Riders are raising funds for Graham Lee and will be led up by professional jockeys.
Jack Berry House will be open to the public on Tuesday July 23 between 2pm and 4pm for visitors to have a tour, see the amazing facilities and find out more about what goes on in the recovery and rehabilitation process of the human athletes.
Craig Binns is driving his vintage tractor to all of the courses throughout the week and collecting for Graham Lee. It will be parked in the enclosures during racing for racegoers to admire and no doubt youngsters to have a sit on too.
The ‘Festival Freddie’ mascot will be at the following meetings: Ripon, Redcar, Beverley, Catterick, Doncaster and Thirsk and York. He will be giving out sweets and stopping for photos with children/families.
York will once again be running the Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe on the final day of the festival when the leading trainer, jockey and best-turned-out yard of the week will be crowned.
Check out the @YorkshireRacing social media account on X for the stat of the day, provided by Timeform, which might help you choose some horses for the meeting or alternatively, Sky Bet will be running their regular tipping competition which may also help influence your decisions.
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.