Newbury: Ladbrokes gallops morning to be broadcast live on Racing TV - free to air
2019 Ladbrokes gallop: Paisley Park (Barry Fenton - blue cap) & De Rasher Counter (Adam Wedge) lead the way up Newbury's straightThe countdown to the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival starts on Tuesday, 17 November at Newbury Racecourse as the official Gallops morning takes place with key contenders ahead of the Grade 3 Ladbrokes Trophy - which will be run on Saturday, 28 November 2020.
Last year’s winner, De Rasher Counter who is looking to defend his title in this year’s renewal, along with the 2019 Ladbrokes Long Distance winner, Paisley Park who is due to make his seasonal reappearance in this year’s Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle will gallop on Tuesday morning.
Also taking part in the gallops morning will be the Ben Pauling-trained Kildisart who was most recently third in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby at the end of October. La Bague Au Roi who holds an entry in the big race for local trainer Warren Greatrex will take part beside Gary Moore’s interesting entry, Benatar.
Champion trainer, Nicky Henderson who has supported the event for the last few years will also bring some of his stable stars along for a racecourse gallop including; Altior, Epatante and Shiskin - as well as his Ladbrokes trophy entry, Beware the Bear, who was fourth in the race last year.
Emma Lavelle said: “We brought De Rasher Counter and Paisley Park along to this last year and that worked out quite well! It’s a great opportunity for us to give these horses a racecourse gallop ten days out from the two-day meeting with thanks to Newbury and all involved for putting it on given the current circumstances.”
The morning which has grown in success usually takes place in front of 250 Newbury Racecourse Annual Members, but given the latest government restrictions, will operate as a ‘behind closed doors’ raceday with the current measures and protocols in place. To ensure people don’t miss out on the chance to see some of the Jumps stars put through their paces, Racing TV will broadcast the morning live and free to air for the first time.
Keith Ottesen is Newbury's Clerk of the Course: “The gallops morning has become a key event in the build up to the two-day meeting and every year we have welcomed leading contenders, media and our annual members. We are very grateful to the BHA and local public health for allowing us to run the event as a behind closed doors raceday and its brilliant that Racing TV will broadcast the morning live and importantly owners and those interested can tune it to watch it for free.”
Ladbrokes spokesman Jon Lees: “We are very grateful to the connections for taking advantage of this opportunity to fine-tune members of their team at Newbury ahead of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival. It helps whet the appetite for the two-day meeting and what we hope will be another memorable edition of the showpiece Ladbrokes Trophy.”
The broadcast, hosted by Rishi Persad, starting at 10 am, will be available to watch live and free to air on Racing TV (Sky 426)