News
Monday June 1 2026
Twilight replacement fixture brings sunshine but few runners
Horses in short supply for Plumpton's replacement twilight fixture
Captain Cool on an evening anything but
The dearth of runners at early season Jumps fixtures came home to roost at Plumpton last week when the British Horseracing Board's replacement fixture for the Sunday aborted due to a local case of equine flu attracted just 31 runners over the seven races.
Halfway through a week with an early summer heatwave, trainers and owners, notwithstanding spectators, opted to stay at home, resulting in some slowly run races and a false pace throughout.
There were no complaints however from the owners of Captain Cool, who followed up his short head victory in a novices handicap at Stratford mid-month with a larger prize in the Kalm Club@Grange Festival Handicap Chase over the minimum trip, scoring by 21l over Shark Hanlon's Irish raider, Lakefield Flyer. Staffordshire handler Jennie Candlish has wasted no time getting underway in this nascent new season's Jump racing, this her seventh winner since the start of May, ridden by claimer Luke Scott, who is unlikely to find an easier ride these next few months.
James Owen doubles up
James Owen enjoyed an easy double with Jonathan Burke in the 3m handicap hurdle and the concluding bumper.
Jubilant was one of five who set off in the hurdle race, and bar a clumsy jump of the third last, had the race in safe keeping from two out, beating Earth King by 2 1/4l.
Five year old debutant Scotto made a winning start in the bumper for longstanding owner P H Betts, with a slick 5 1/2l victory over 33/1 outsider Zandahar.
Burke is riding as a freelance this season, having relinquished his retainer with Fergal O'Brien. That he is in demand is not in question; he's at the peak of his riding prowess at present and sure to be a player in the first rank of Jump jockeys.
Goodwin Faces off
The opening maiden hurdle told us precisely nothing about the relative talents of the three proponents. Distances of 48l and 40l must have tested the patience of the judge to wait in position long enough for the three to cross the line.
it was a pleasant enough schooling session for Anthony Honeyball's Kamille au Kanada, who made no-one rich with an SP of 1/3, and a clear round of jumping under Sam Twiston-Davies, who never saw another horse.
Schooling lessons on the cards for Cher Monsieur
Four runners set off for the 2m 4f Kalm Club at Plumpton Handicap Chase, and the shortest odds were on a french-bred winner, three of the four bred over the Channel.
Cher Monsieur will need to brush up his jumping if he's to progress beyond this level, but the six year old from Conkwell Grange outside Bath, where Neil Mulholland trains, has time on his side to practise. Mistakes at the seventh, eighth and eleventh of the fourteen fences were still not enough to let his rivals in with a squeak, and conor O'Neill had a long 2 1/2l in hand at the line.
No Plumpton meeting would be complete without a fair showing from the masters of Lower Beeding. Diplomatic Ash kept the Moore family reputation intact when squeezing home in the conditional riders race but it was a close-run thing.
The seven year old was far from foot perfect, and hung right on the run-in, allowing Chad Bament on Everyonesgame to get within a neck at the line. It proved a first Jumps career winner for Jude Fernandes.
Goodwin Faces off
After a string of placed efforts here at Plumpton, Goodwin Face finally found a race he could win at the eighth attempt in the 2m Kalm Club Handicap Hurdle over the minimum trip.
Sent off the 13/8 favourite in a field of 5, Tom Cannon hunted round in rear till two out, made his challenge and reached the post 3 1/2l ahead of Alibey, going away. Chris Gordon has an admirable record with Bet Goodwin horses at Plumpton.
