A Brilliant Sunday in the Borders

There are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than at Kelso. The Scottish Borders were bathed in summer sunshine, the ground was riding Good to Firm, and the Kelso racecard had enough quality and intrigue to keep even the most restless punter glued to their racecard all afternoon.

Six races, a spread of distances from a sharp six furlongs to a staying test of nearly a mile and a half, and a cast of jockeys that read like a who's who of the northern and national flat scene. Cieren Fallon was practically living in the saddle — riding in four of the six contests — while Silvestre De Sousa lent his considerable experience to three more. When you've got those two names cropping up across a card, you know connections are taking the afternoon seriously.

Let's break it all down.

The Feature Race: The ADS Handicap Stakes (Class 4, 6f)

If you had to pick one race that had the whole paddock buzzing before the off, it was the ADS Handicap Stakes at 16:44 — a Class 4 sprint over six furlongs with £12,000 on the line and a field that was absolutely loaded at the top of the weights.

Ray Mon Dough (Hector Crouch, rated 87), Art Lover (Cieren Fallon, rated 87) and Evening Blues (Ben Robinson, rated 87) all came into the race sharing the top weight — a rare three-way dead heat at the head of the handicap that made this one genuinely difficult to call on paper. Add in Sea Cookie (Neil Callan, rated 84) — who carries the course form flag with that [D] by her name — and Nuevo Slovo (Paddy Bradley, rated 83), and you had a proper sprint handicap on your hands.

The wildcard? Percy's Star, handed to the ever-reliable Silvestre De Sousa, who arrived off a mark of just 74 but with that crucial course-and-distance form to her name. In a sprint on Good to Firm ground, that kind of local knowledge can be worth lengths. De Sousa doesn't take rides for fun — if he's here on a Sunday afternoon, he fancies his chances.

This was the race of the day, and however it unfolded, the sprint track at Kelso delivered the goods.

The Novice Stakes: One to Watch from the Off

The opening race — The LOROS Irish EBF Novice Stakes at 14:24 — was always going to set the tone. A Class 3 novice over seven furlongs with just three runners, but what a three.

Jimtrott, sent off with an official rating of 82 and ridden by Charles Bishop, was the one with the form in the book and the experience to match. But this is a novice stakes, and ratings don't always tell the full story when unexposed youngsters are involved.

Al Wathba (Connor Planas) and Ebt's Warrior (Lewis Edmunds) both arrived unrated — horses whose ceilings we simply don't know yet. That's the magic of novice racing. One of them could be anything. In a three-runner field on fast ground, pace and positioning matter enormously, and with Bishop, Planas and Edmunds all capable of riding a tactical race, this was far from a foregone conclusion.

Keep an eye on whoever finished second here. In a small-field novice, beaten horses can go on to win plenty — especially if they were simply outpaced by a more experienced rival rather than beaten on merit.

Ones to Follow: Notebook Horses from the Afternoon

Every card throws up a few horses worth scribbling down, and today's Kelso racecard was no different. Here are the names we'd be adding to the tracker tonight:

  • Art Lover — Top weight in the feature sprint, Cieren Fallon in the saddle, and course form to boot. If this one ran well — win or lose — it's a horse to follow at six furlongs on quick ground for the rest of the season.
  • Cancelled — The 16:09 fillies' handicap featured this intriguingly-named mare (Kevin Stott, rated 77) who carries both course and distance form. Fillies' handicaps at this level can be the making of a horse, and Stott is a jockey who knows how to deliver at the right moment.
  • Mountbatten — Dylan Hogan's mount in the 15:34 staying handicap came in rated 70 and top of the weights, with course form already on the CV. Staying handicappers who run well at Kelso tend to come back here — watch for a follow-up entry.
  • Robusto — Harry Vigors riding a horse with both course and distance form in the staying handicap. Rated 65 and potentially well-treated if the handicapper has underestimated his stamina. One for the longer trips as autumn approaches.
  • Greek Symphony — Mason Paetel's mount in the nursery handicap, rated 72 with course form already banked. Nursery handicappers with course experience are always worth a second look, particularly as the season progresses and their marks settle.

Jockey Watch: Fallon and De Sousa Dominate the Card

You simply cannot review this card without talking about Cieren Fallon. Four rides across the afternoon — Love Rome in the nursery, Al Maslool in the stayer, Venetian Sky in the fillies' handicap, and Art Lover in the feature sprint. That's a full day's work and then some, and it tells you everything about how highly connections regard him right now.

Fallon is riding with real confidence this season. His style suits fast ground — he's patient, he reads a race well, and he very rarely gets involved in scrapes. If Art Lover was his pick of the bunch today, that sprint result will be the one to watch for notebook purposes.

Silvestre De Sousa meanwhile brought his trademark cool to three rides — Barak Warrior in the stayer, Percy's Star in the sprint, and Tamzan in the fillies' handicap. De Sousa doesn't do junk rides. Every booking means something. Percy's Star in particular, at a mark of 74 against rivals rated up to 87, looks like a horse he genuinely believed could outrun her rating on the day.

Honourable mention too for Lewis Edmunds, who had three rides across the card and was clearly a go-to for several yards today. A busy, productive afternoon for a jockey building real momentum.

Looking Ahead: Where Do These Horses Go Next?

With the flat season in full swing and the northern tracks operating on some lovely summer ground, several of today's runners will be worth tracking over the coming weeks.

The novice winner from the opening race — whoever that turns out to be — could easily step up in class. A Class 3 novice win at Kelso in August is a solid foundation for a tilt at something better before the season closes. Keep an eye on entries at Haydock, Musselburgh and Doncaster in the weeks ahead.

The sprint handicappers from the ADS race will almost certainly reconvene somewhere. Horses rated 83-87 in six-furlong handicaps tend to be busy at this time of year, and the connections involved today are not the type to put their horses away early. York's Ebor meeting has already passed, but there's plenty of racing left on the northern circuit.

And for the staying horses from the 15:34? As the season tips into September and October, the staying handicap division gets more competitive — but horses with proven form at tracks like Kelso on fast ground will have options at Perth, Hamilton and back here before the turf season wraps up.

Final Verdict: A Card That Delivered

Sunday afternoon racing can sometimes feel like a filler — a card to keep the schedule ticking over. Not today at Kelso. Six well-constructed races, competitive fields, top-drawer jockey bookings and a feature sprint that had genuine depth at the top of the weights. The Scottish Borders put on a show.

Stick Art Lover, Cancelled and Mountbatten in your notebook. Watch what Cieren Fallon does next. And if Percy's Star ran anywhere near her best today, De Sousa will have her back in the winner's enclosure before long.

Good to Firm, good fun. That's Kelso on a Sunday in August — and we wouldn't have it any other way.