A band of hardy souls was present for Royal Windsor Racecourse’s opening race meeting of 2024 last Monday afternoon. The gloomy forecasts of lengthy spells of rain never materialised (the going was officially Good surprisingly), but the wind was gusty and blustery throughout the 8-race afternoon card, and many would leave the course donning messy Boris Johnson hairdos at home time.
All had an enjoyable experience though, as is the norm whenever you go racing at Windsor. Enjoyable for all bar the bookmakers that is. The windy conditions didn’t seem to adversely affect the fancied runners, with half the races being won by the market leaders.
Will favourite backers be in their element once again this Monday at Windsor, as the track’s Evening Racing schedule gets underway. It’s always an exciting time and one that adds to the atmosphere and buzz around the Berkshire racecourse. The race action kicks off at 16:10, the first of 8 races on the evening card. Matt Chapman and the Sky Sports Racing crew will be broadcasting live throughout.
Windsor Races – Monday April 15th ‘Opening Meeting’ Review
Favourite backers may have had an afternoon to remember last Monday at Windsor, but it didn’t start off too promisingly, with Richard Hannon’s The Coffee Pod only finishing third. Kendall Roy would romp to victory in the opener under the guidance of the 3-time champion jockey, Silvestre De Sousa. It was the first British winner for County Wexford handler, Kate McGivern. Kendall Roy would follow-up with a win at Thirsk five days later.
Karl Burke’s well-fancied newcomer (and longest traveller of the day at Windsor), King Of Light, would also finish 3rd in the second race of the day, another sprint contest over 5 furlongs. Another newcomer (and second-favourite) Golden Paradise taking the honours. The bookmakers’ solid start to the meeting would end abruptly though as the hottest talking horse in the market of the afternoon, Harper’s Ferry (at odds of 4/7), clinched a cosy win for trainer Ed Walker.
Saffie Osborne impressed in the saddle, keeping a cool head after the horse had reared in the stalls and had taken a keen hold in the early stages. In the same race, Royal fans were left a little saddened as the King & Queen’s horse, Reaching High, failed to the reach the heights, finishing 6th after starting slowly from the stalls.
There was a Crown winner later in the day though. Bishop’s Crown in the hands of Charles Bishop became the second successful favourite of the afternoon when landing Division 2 of the Paul Dean’s First Visit to Windsor Handicap. The jollies were rattling in now. Scott Dixon’s 6-year-old, Perseverants, scooted clear to land the following race. Ed Walker and Saffie Osborne would strike again in the penultimate race with Phoenix Passion justifying favouritism. Punters were hoping that the same trainer/jockey combo would claim a hat-trick in the last, but Hakuna Babe, the 6/4 jolly, would finish well done the field after taking a keen hold and finding trouble in running. Gary Moore’s Kotari would take the last at bookie-beaming odds of 18/1, the biggest priced winner of the opening meeting.
Top Jockeys to Make Their 2024 Windsor Bow
Two of the most prolific jockeys around the Windsor track are set to make their seasonal bow during the first Evening meeting of the year this Monday. Three-time champion jockey, Oisin Murphy has a handful of rides. Tom Marquand, the 2021 & 2022 top saddle star at Windsor, interestingly has just a sole ride in the last, aboard Ed Walker’s Morindoo.
Oisin Murphy’s first Windsor ride of 2024 is on the unraced 2-year-old, Liberty Bird, in the third race on the card (17:20). He then has mounts in all five remaining races, so six rides in total. Half of those is for Charlie Johnston. As well as Liberty Bird, Oisin is also riding Arch Legend (18:50) and Persian Phoenix (19:50) for the North Yorkshire handler. Pricewise, Castle in the Sand (17:50) and Auric (19:20) look be the Irish jock’s best chances of opening.
Saffie Osborne who starred in the saddle during Windsor’s last week’s opening meeting and currently tops the track’s early 2024 jockey table, returns this week too. Jamie Osborne’s talented young daughter has 3 rides, including one for her dear old papa, Wahraan (18:20). Saffie has come on leaps and bounds in recent years after claiming her first win in the saddle at Windsor, back in July 2020. She famously became the first female jockey to win a race at Meydan in Dubai, just a couple of months ago.
Windsor Races – What’s to Come In 2024
Some of the remaining highlights this year are as follows:
April
22nd – First Evening Meeting
May
6th – Bank Holiday Family Fun Day
25th – Summer Opening Party
June
3rd – 80s Retro Explosion
10th – Irish Night
17th – Summer Garden Party
29th – Ladies Day
July
1st – ABBA Party Racenight
15th – Rum & Reggae Racenight
22nd – Soul & Motown
29th – An Evening with Queen
August
3rd – Gents Evening
12th – Vegas Night
15th – Racing League
19th – Final Fiesta
24th – Summer Closing Party
September
2nd – Final Evening Meeting
October
14th – Final Flat Meeting
December
15th – The Return of NH Racing
Windsor Races – Monday April 22nd Evening Meeting Preview
There is due to be a few showers about around the Windsor area during the course of Monday, but nothing too heavy is forecasted. The ground has firmed up since last week’s meeting and is due to be good to firm. The predicted rain may juice things up a little, but with nothing significant expected, the going is unlikely to change.
Four previous course winners return to Windsor this Monday, attempting to claim further glory at the Berkshire track. Snuggle and Gherkin in the opening race (16:10). On Edge in the (16:50) and Rockit Tommy in the (18:20). Gherkin didn’t feature at Windsor last year but ran four times there in 2022 and never finished out of the frame, so could be there or thereabouts. On Edge was a winner of a big-field contest over the same 6 furlongs at Windsor in October. Gina Mangan takes the ride once again. Rockit Tommy has only had two previous racecourse outings, one of those being a victory in Windsor last May. He’s not been seen out since, so a 343-day layoff may put some off. It was also soft underfoot when he won last time.
Lope De Vega sired two runners at Windsor last week and both performed well (the pick of those two being Harper’s Ferry). The former French 2000 Guineas and Derby Winner was also the dam’s sire to another three runners during the opening Windsor meeting and they all performed admirably too. He’s the sire for only one Windsor runner this week, Liseo (18:20). He’s Simon & Ed Crisford’s only runner and their sole representative last Monday, Ghostlore, ran a big race at large odds. Liseo could be in the mix here.
Two of the hottest favourites on the 8-race card are Deira Mile (17:50) and Cock And Bull (18:50). Deira Mile is Owen Burrows’ only runner and Jim Crowley is in Windsor specifically to take the ride. He was 4th in a Group 1 at Doncaster last year, so is a classy beast. Though he’s never run over a surface firmer than good to soft, which maybe a concern.
Cock And Bull makes his first turf appearance this year after two impressive All-Weather runs within the last month at Wolverhampton and Kempton. Michael Bell’s runner looks to have stepped up positively from two to three and there looks to be room for further improvement.
Good Luck All!! Let us know your Windsor selections and views by clicking on ‘Comments’ under the main article title at the top of the piece.
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Image Credit: Deposit Photos
