Some of the country’s top trainers will be looking for pickings outside of Royal Ascot when Ffos Las stages its second flat meeting of the summer this week. The seven-race card on Wednesday evening has attracted entries from such training heavyweights as Ralph Beckett, William Haggas and George Boughey.
All will have runners at the prestigious Royal meeting, but may also find the competition intense in Carmarthenshire as the home team look to keep the prize money in Wales.
Grace Harris, David Evans and the father-and-son combination of John and Rhys Flint – all of them familiar with the winner’s enclosure at Ffos Las – had horses entered at the six-day stage.
It is also fitting that there could be a runner in Royal colours, with Lightning Polka from Ed Walker’s yard entered in the seven-furlong handicap. The big-hitting operations of Juddmonte and Amo Racing also had runners entered at the first declaration stage.
There could be a number of promising horses to come out of the most valuable contest of the evening, the Oil 4 Wales Maiden Fillies’ Stakes which is run over 10 furlongs. The first race is due off at 5.42pm.
Barry Murphy, who trains just a few miles from Ffos Las, could also be represented and showed he has his yard in good order when picking up wins both on the flat and over the jumps at the end of last week.
Jack’s Jury, the horse who provided Murphy’s first winner after a seven-year break from the training ranks, was successful in a staying handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot under Porth-born jockey Callum Pritchard.
Murphy was on the mark again the following day when landing a 2m 1f handicap on the flat at Bath courtesy of Sapphire Sirocco.
There has been plenty of Welsh success to enjoy in the past week. Cath Williams saddled Coup de Gold to win a two-mile handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot under daughter Eleanor (photographed).
And Grace Harris claimed her 11th winner of the current flat campaign when Oasis Sunrise defied odds of 18-1 to bag a 10-furlong handicap at Leicester.
Meanwhile, David Probert warmed up for Royal Ascot with a treble on Saturday’s card at Chester. He took the opener on Station X for trainer Bryan Smart, made it two for the afternoon when pushing home Tricky Tel in a tight finish, then completed his haul on board Shipshape for Mid Glamorgan’s Bernard Llewellyn.
Probert has a number of rides lined up at the Royal meeting, the pick of which is likely to be on Thursday when he partners Dubai Future in the highlight of the week, the Ascot Gold Cup.
Probert has partnered the Godolphin stalwart twice this season and gave him an enterprising ride in the Henry II Stakes at Sandown last time out when the pair held on to claim a neck success from Sweet William.
There will also be Welsh interest in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday when Gstaad, the horse bred at Maywood Stud just a few miles from Ffos Las, looks for revenge against 2000 Guineas conqueror Bow Echo.
