Autumn Festival of Racing at The Curragh.
The Autumn Festival of Racing taking place at the Curragh on 11 & 12 September combines exceptional racing with great fashion, food and fun over two days.
The Irish Field St Leger takes centre stage on Saturday with some of Europe’s top middle distance performers battling for success in the final Classic race of the year. Potential runners include Ascot Gold Cup hero Rite of Passage, Profound Beauty, Melbourne Cup runner up Pop Rock, recent Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes winner San Frontieres and the Godolphin owned Kite Wood. The Group 1 contest is established as one of the premier trial races in the world for the Emirates Melbourne Cup and there will be an opportunity for one lucky person to win a holiday of a lifetime to attend Australia’s greatest race.
The Group 1 National Stakes and the inaugural running of the Curragh Amateur Riders Derby will also be part of a star studded line up.
Saturday of the Festival is now established as one of the most fashionable days in the Autumn racing calendar. Think “Absolutely Fabulous” as the association with one of the world’s premier champagne brands has boosted the profile of the day, whereby it is now an important date in the social diary. Bollinger in conjunction with K Club will present some exciting prizes to the ladies judged to be wearing the Most Stylish Hats on the day.
Sunday is the ultimate family race day with top class racing featuring the Group 2 Blandford Stakes combined with lots of free activities for young children courtesy of K Bowl, including giant WII games, face paintings, reptile zoo, live music from Johnny Peters and free candy floss. There will be a strong sporting theme to include exhibition games with children from sports clubs, while there will be a re-enactment by Royston Boxing Club of the historic boxing match between Dan Donnelly and George Cooper which took place on the Curragh in 1815, plus it is hoped to have Dan Donnelly’s legendary arm on display.
The Curragh in association with the Independent Brewers and Distillers of Ireland has brought together some of Ireland’s finest micro brewers to showcase their products in order to create a special event as part of the Festival. This will take place over both days in the new Garden Enclosure close to the parade ring. The Thorough-Brew Village will give anyone attending the races the opportunity to purchase and sample a variety of great beers.
Finally, the Curragh Racecourse in association with Horse Racing Ireland will celebrate the magnificent achievements of HRI’s 2010 Flat Ambassador Michael Kinane by staging an exhibition of his racing successes, with the exhibition taking place in the Bollinger Champagne Bar.
Kinane is the only jockey who can claim wins in all the major European Group Ones as well as in the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup, the Japan Cup, the Hong Kong Cup and the Melbourne Cup. This exhibition will honour Kinane’s many successes over three decades with a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a magnificent collection of memorabilia which will highlight his legendary career.
The 2010 William Hill sponsered Ayr Gold Cup Meeting.
Scotland’s richest and most glamorous flat racing meeting - the William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup Festival takes place at Ayr Racecourse from Thursday 16 September until Saturday 18 September 2010.
This extravaganza features 22 races worth more than £530,000 in prize money and some of the most famous names in racing.
And thats not all – there is also superb entertainment featuring Jamie 'Afro' Archer and other quality acts and the glamorous William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup Ladies Day when one lucky lady will drive off in a brand new car.
People flock to Ayr from all over the UK and Ireland for this fabulous race meeting which on the Thursday features the williamhill.com/bonus25 Handicap for the Kilkerran Cup.
Friday afternoon sees the exciting double header of the William Hill (Ayr) Bronze Cup and the Zenith Ltd (Refurbishment Specialists) Harry Rosebery Stakes for the South Ayrshire Cup in addition to the glamour of William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup Ladies Day.
Prizes that day are simply superb – for the third year running Kerr&Smith/Iveco Trucks have sponsored the star prize which this year is a stunning Vauxhall NEW Astra 5 door 1.4 Turbo. Runner up prize is a Norwegian cruise courtesy of Stewart Travel and third prizes is a piece of jewellery from designer Alex Cairncross.
Bronze coins are awarded to best dressed ladies at a variety of race meetings throughout the year including Ladies Day itself and everyone who has won a coin will draw the name of a horse running in the William Hill (Ayr) Bronze Cup. The lady who has the winning horse wins the car and the second and third placed pick up the other top prizes.
The third and final day of the Festival on Saturday features the William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup – the richest sprint handicap in Europe - and the William Hill (Silver) Cup along with several other top races including the Laundry Cottage Stud Firth of Clyde and the williamhill.com Doonside Cup.
And there is great entertainment after racing each of the three days including Jamie Archer in the Ayrshire Suite on Friday.
There are still tickets available for all 3 days, and you can order through the Ayr Racecourse website. While for late hotel bookings and travel arrangements, just call Racingsight on 0191 417 8744.
Racing's Back A Winner By Train – Features more racecourses in 2010.
Now in its twenty fourth year, the Back A Winner by Train promotion enables race-goers using the train to gain £4 off admission into the Grandstand, Paddock or County Enclosures at participating racecourses in the North of England and Scotland - apart from York which remains at a discount of £3, but with this discount still applying to the prestigious four-day ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ Ebor Festival in August.
The scheme, backed by First TransPennine Express in association with Northern Rail and First ScotRail, now features a record 200 days of racing at 12 courses, with newcomers Pontefract and Hexham joining Beverley, Carlisle, Cartmel, Doncaster, Hamilton Park, Musselburgh, Newcastle, Redcar, Thirsk and York.
In addition to savings on admission, racegoers have the opportunity of obtaining £2 off a toteplacepot bet of £5 or more. This will be part of the voucher race-goers can claim when buying their travel for the races at 90 stations across the region.
The promotion runs from March 27 until December 30 2010.
