A Lovely Afternoon for It
My old dad used to say that there were two kinds of summer days: days you spent in the garden, and days you spent at the races. He never did explain what happened when the garden needed mowing and there was a decent card on. I suspect he just went racing and hoped my mum hadn't noticed.
Today feels like very much the latter kind of day. We're heading to Fontwell Park for a seven-race afternoon card, and the going is reported as Good to Firm, Good in places — which, in the height of July in West Sussex, is about as good as it gets for fast-ground lovers. The sun is doing its thing, the ground is quick underfoot, and there's a proper spread of racing from the 13:40 all the way through to the 17:10. If you're settling in for the afternoon, you could do a lot worse. Pull up a chair, make a brew, and let's have a look at what's on offer on the Fontwell Park racecard.
The Feature Race: Wellman Cars Almada Mile Handicap (15:25, Class 2)
With a prize fund of £30,000, the Wellman Cars Private Hire Almada Mile Handicap is the jewel in today's crown — and it's a cracking little contest. Six runners line up over the mile and 68 yards, and the ratings are tightly bunched between 87 and 102, which tells you this one is going to be competitive right to the line.
At the top of the weights sits English Oak, the six-year-old trained by Hamad Al Jehani and ridden by Jack Nicholls. Rated 102 and with course and distance form to his name, he's the one they all have to beat. That combination of experience, a high rating, and proven ability over this exact trip at this track makes him a very serious proposition on good to firm ground. Nicholls has been in fine form and knows how to deliver a horse late — keep an eye on where he sits in the early stages.
Chasing him down will be the three-year-olds, and what a trio they are. I'll Be Back (K. R. Burke, Sam James), Monarch's Gold (Kevin Philippart de Foy, Daniel Tudhope), and Noelan Star (Edward Bethell, Connor Beasley) are all rated 92 — level on the figures and each with a case to make. Three-year-olds get a weight allowance in these open handicaps, which can make them dangerous, and Monarch's Gold in particular interests me. Tudhope is one of the shrewdest judges of pace in the country, and Philippart de Foy's yard has been among the form horses of the summer. Noelan Star also catches the eye with course and distance form — that's not nothing on a track that rewards horses who've been here before.
On the going, the good to firm surface suits front-runners and horses with a high cruising speed. English Oak's course and distance record suggests he handles these conditions well, while the younger horses may find the fast ground tests their stamina in the closing stages.
Key Runners to Watch Across the Card
13:40 — Nursery Handicap: Call Nicki
We kick off with the two-year-old nursery over five furlongs and seven yards, and it's a small but select field of four. Call Nicki, trained by Tim Easterby and ridden by David Allan, stands out immediately — she carries both the course and distance symbols, which is a significant advantage in a race this tight. Rated 73 and with Allan in the saddle (a jockey who rarely wastes a journey), she looks the one to be on. The top-rated runner, Caturra Lights, will push her hard, but course form on fast ground is worth its weight in gold at a track like this.
14:50 — Novice Stakes: My Mate Roger
I'll be honest with you — I have a personal interest in seeing My Mate Roger run well. The name alone has earned him a place in my heart. Trained by Tom Clover and ridden by David Egan, he's the only rated horse in the field at 86, which gives him a clear form advantage over his unraced or lightly raced rivals in this restricted novice stakes over a mile and 68 yards. Egan is a polished jockey who doesn't need things to go perfectly to get the job done. If My Mate Roger — and I feel I should be on first-name terms — handles the good to firm ground, he should win this comfortably. Consider it a matter of honour that I'm tipping him.
16:00 — Class 4 Handicap: Jannas Journey
The 16:00 is a five-runner handicap over the mile trip for four-year-olds and upwards, and Jannas Journey catches my eye. The five-year-old trained by Jim Goldie and ridden by Lauren Young holds both course and distance form, and at a rating of 79 she's joint-top of the weights alongside Kaleido. Jim Goldie has had runners at this meeting already today, and when a northern yard makes the trip south with course-proven horses, it's usually worth taking seriously. Young has been riding with growing confidence this season too.
17:10 — Staying Handicap: Alnayef
To close the day, we have a staying handicap over one mile five furlongs and 16 yards — a proper test of stamina to end the afternoon. Alnayef, the five-year-old trained by Jim Goldie (again) and ridden by Paul Mulrennan, is top-rated at 65 and boasts both course and distance form. On good to firm ground, the pace can be unrelenting over this trip, and horses who've proven they stay the distance here have a real edge. Mulrennan is an experienced hand, and Alnayef ticks the right boxes.
How the Going Affects Today's Racing
Good to firm ground — with good patches in places — is the kind of surface that separates horses with a high cruising speed from those who prefer to grind it out on softer terrain. Over the sprint trips (the 13:40 and 14:15), expect fast sectionals and a premium on horses who can travel smoothly through their races rather than having to work hard early. Barry McHugh on Great Profit in the 14:15 will be looking to use the conditions to his advantage on a lightly weighted three-year-old, and that's worth noting.
Over the mile trips, the fast ground tends to stretch fields out earlier than usual — there's less hiding place for horses who lack a turn of foot. Course and distance form becomes even more valuable in these conditions, which is why I keep coming back to the horses marked [C,D] throughout the card. They've done it here before, in conditions not unlike these. That's not a guarantee, but it's a very good starting point.
Pierre-Louis Jamin takes the ride on Or Another in the opener — a booking worth noting for a horse at the foot of the weights. If the ground suits, outsiders can spring surprises in small fields.
Roger's Best Bets — Ones to Watch
- Call Nicki (13:40) — Course and distance form, David Allan up. Looks the one to beat in a small field.
- English Oak (15:25) — Top-rated, course and distance proven, Jack Nicholls booked. The feature race banker.
- My Mate Roger (14:50) — Highest rated in the novice field by some distance. And yes, the name helps.
- Jannas Journey (16:00) — Course and distance form, Goldie yard in good nick, value at the weights.
- Alnayef (17:10) — Top weight, course and distance record, Mulrennan to close the card in style.
It's a lovely afternoon card at a lovely little track. Fontwell may not have the glamour of Ascot or the history of Goodwood, but on a warm July Thursday, there are few better places to spend your time and your tenner. Enjoy the racing — and if My Mate Roger wins, I'll be insufferable about it for weeks.
