A Somerset Saturday Worth Savouring

My old dad used to say that September racing had a particular smell to it — damp grass, the faintest hint of autumn on the breeze, and the quiet understanding that the flat season's best chapters were being written right now, before the jumps crowd muscled back in. I thought about him this afternoon watching the card unfold at Taunton. Seven races, good to soft ground with some good patches thrown in, and a genuinely varied afternoon that gave punters of every stripe something to get stuck into.

It wasn't a Glorious Goodwood or a Champions Day, nobody's pretending otherwise. But there's something honest and appealing about a card like this — competitive handicaps, a decent novice race with a bumper prize fund, and a fillies' heat that had real quality at the top of the weights. If you were there in person, I hope you had a decent day. If you were watching from the sofa with a brew going cold beside you, same applies. Let's have a look at what the Taunton racecard served up.

The Feature Race: EBF Novice Stakes Steals the Show

The standout race on paper — and almost certainly in practice — was the British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Novice Stakes at 14:40, worth a very healthy £30,000 and run over six furlongs. For a Class 2 novice heat on a Saturday in September at Taunton, that's serious prize money, and it attracted a field of thirteen that had genuine depth once you scratched beneath the surface.

Dontlookanyfurther (Jason Hart) came in as the only runner with a handicap rating — 78 — which in a field of largely unexposed types is both an advantage and a target on your back. Hart is a jockey who rarely wastes a journey, and if connections felt this was the right spot, there's every chance the horse had been showing something at home worth backing up.

But the real intrigue lay in the unrated brigade. Pippy Boy (Darragh Keenan), Uncle Zello (Harry Davies), and Voyager One (Pierre-Louis Jamin) were among those going in without a public form figure to their name — always exciting, always slightly nerve-wracking if you've had a few quid on them. Keenan and Davies are two of the most in-form young riders on the circuit right now, and when stables send out unexposed horses with jockeys of that calibre, you pay attention.

Scottys Rocket (Joanna Mason) is another worth a mention — Mason has quietly become one of the most reliable pilots on the northern circuit, and any horse she saddles up on deserves respect. Keep an eye on wherever these novices head next; the form from a race like this can take months to fully unravel.

Ones to Follow — Mark These Names Down

Every card throws up a handful of horses worth tracking into the autumn, and today was no different. Here's who caught my eye across the seven races:

  • Empire Rising (13:35, Darragh Keenan) — Top-rated in the opening nursery at 74, over a trip that should suit a horse still learning its craft. Nursery form at this time of year can be golden; the handicapper hasn't always had time to fully assess these youngsters, and progressive types can win a few before the weights catch up.
  • Oolong Poobong (15:15, Connor Beasley) — What a name. What a rating. Top of the weights at 89 in the Class 3 fillies' handicap, and Beasley is the sort of jockey you want aboard a well-fancied filly on a turning track. If she ran well here, she's one to follow into Listed company before the season closes.
  • Mostar Dreams (15:50, M.P. Sheehy) — Highest-rated runner on the card at 97, heading up the Class 3 six-furlong handicap. A horse rated in the high nineties in a Class 3 has to be considered well-in, and the combination with Sheehy — quietly building a solid book of rides — makes this one very interesting indeed.
  • Kosometsuke (17:35, Connor Beasley) — Top-rated in the closing handicap at 82, with course and distance form to his name. Beasley picking up the ride here suggests connections were keen to have a live pilot aboard. One to keep tabs on through the autumn handicap season.
  • Bay of Myths (16:25, Ashley Lewis) — In the mile-and-a-half Calverts Carpets handicap, this one at 79 could be nicely weighted. Stayers' handicaps at this time of year often throw up progressive types who've spent the summer finding their feet, and Lewis is a jockey worth following when she's handed a decent opportunity.

The Jockey and Trainer Angle

One of the things I always enjoy about a card like this is watching the jockey booking patterns — they tell a story all of their own. Connor Beasley was kept busy today with rides across multiple races including the feature fillies' handicap and the closing seven-furlong heat. When a jockey of Beasley's calibre is double-booked across a card, it usually means at least one of his mounts is expected to go close.

Darragh Keenan similarly had a full book — opening nursery, the EBF novice, and the closing handicap — suggesting connections across multiple yards trust him on a track that rewards tactical awareness. Taunton's configuration can catch out the unwary, and experienced heads in the saddle matter.

Joanna Mason had a quieter book in terms of headline rides, but she's a jockey who consistently punches above her weight in terms of winner percentages. Spirit of Acklam in the mile-and-a-half handicap and Scottys Rocket in the novice stakes gave her two very different tests — the mark of a versatile, underrated talent.

Looking Ahead — Where Do These Horses Go Next?

September is a fascinating month for the flat. The big handicap prizes are still out there — the autumn festivals at Ascot, Newmarket, and Haydock loom large — and a horse that wins or runs well at a track like Taunton today could easily be lining up for something considerably more valuable in four to six weeks' time.

The EBF novice graduates are the ones I'd watch most closely. Unraced or lightly raced horses who show ability in a race worth £30,000 tend to attract attention quickly, and connections don't hang around. Expect some of today's novice field to reappear at Newmarket, Nottingham, or Doncaster before the month is out — and one or two might be worth following all the way to the Guineas trials next spring if the ability is there.

For the handicappers, the autumn staying season is prime time. Spirit of Acklam, Bay of Myths, and What's The Plan from the mile-and-a-half heat all look like types who could improve with better ground and a stiffer test as the season progresses. Don't write any of them off after today.

Final Thoughts from the Paddock

All in all, a thoroughly decent Saturday afternoon's racing at one of the West Country's most charming venues. Taunton doesn't always get the credit it deserves — it sits quietly in the Somerset countryside doing its job year after year, providing good, honest racing for good, honest punters. Days like today are exactly what it's there for.

The ground played fair at good to soft, good in places — not too testing, not a zip-wire surface — which means the form should stand up well to scrutiny. Keep the Taunton racecard bookmarked and start tracking those novice graduates. One or two of them could be very good indeed. You heard it here first.

As always, bet within your means, enjoy the racing, and I'll see you at the next one.