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The penultimate meeting in Taunton’s National Hunt racing season comes along on Thursday 12th April, with the first race at 2.20. This meeting falls within the schools’ Easter holiday and, following the huge success of the recent Sunday fixture, the Racecourse is nominating it as another family day. So the inflatable castles which proved to be a big hit with younger spectators, together with the mechanical horse, will be brought back to add to the fun of the day. Despite less than perfect weather for that first ever Sunday meeting there was a great crowd, (bigger than for last year’s evening fixture), and it was good to see so many families intent on enjoying the action, which, true to form, reflected the best of what Taunton offers week in, week out. There were wins for all the top names, Mick Fitzgerald in the first, a double for champion trainer Paul Nicholls, and a blanket finish in the best race of the day which could have been won by any one of six coming over the final fence.
A compelling card worth almost £39,000 should produce more of the same on Thursday 12th, which welcomes back Carlsberg UK as sponsor for the feature race, The Carlsberg UK Handicap Chase, which claims £11,000 of the total prize money and goes over 2 and a half miles. Carlsberg will present a special memento to the winning owner, champagne to trainer and jockey and a crate of lager to the groom of the best turned out. The Tincknell Mitsubishi Shogun Maiden Hurdle should also provide a good contest, and this is the meeting which sees the renewal of hostilities for the trophy which annually accompanies The Captain Ronnie Wallace Hunters’ Chase, held in memory of one of the major figures on the hunting scene in Somerset, and which invariably attracts a huge entry.
At this next meeting there will be an opportunity to buy a half price membership package to cover the remainder of the calendar year to include both the evening and Christmas fixtures. Details are available from the Racecourse office. That evening meeting will be the final act of this part of the season on Friday 20th April, but first we can anticipate another super family day out when the action begins at 2.20 on Thursday 12th.
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Two To Go
