Which is the closest racecourse to central London?

Which is the closest racecourse to central London? Anyone looking for horse racing in the vicinity of the capital city may be pleased to learn that there are, in fact, five or six racecourses, offering Flat and National Hunt action, within 30 miles of central London. Kempton Park, which is situated in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, on the outskirts of Greater London, is the closest of them all, at a distance of just over 15 miles via the A4 and A316.

Kempton Park is, in fact, one of the busiest racecourses in Europe, hosting Flat and National Hunt racing all year ’round; the most prestigious race of the year is the Grade 1 King George VI Chase, run annually on Boxing Day.

Sandown Park, in the outlying London suburb of Esher, is only slightly further away, at a distance of nearly 18 miles via the A3, which connects the City of London and Portsmouth. Remarkably, Epsom Downs Racecourse, home of the Derby, is less than 20 miles away from central London via the A3, or even closer if you’re prepared to forsake the A3 for a slightly slower route on the A24, between Clapham and Worthing, West Sussex. Slightly further afield, although still on 25 miles from central London, Royal Windsor Racecourse can be reached via the A4 and M4. Continuing west, Ascot Racecourse is less than five miles further and can be reached via the M25 and A30 Staines Bypass.

 

Who founded Timeform?

Nowadays, Timeform is part of the Paddy Power Betfair Group, but the company was founded in 1948, by the late Phil Bull, who also found fame as a professional gambler. While studying mathematics at Leeds University, and after graduation, Bull developed a technique for statistically analysing races times, which eventually formed the basis of mail order tipping service, known as the ‘Temple Time Test’.

In 1943, Bull published a book entitled ‘Best Horses of 1942’ and, following the end of World War II, joined forces with form aficianado Dick Whitford, to create Portway Press Limited, which traded as ‘Timeform’. In 1948, ‘Racehorses of 1947’, which contained an essay and a numerical performance rating for every horse that ran on the Flat during the year, would become the first of 73 volumes to be published, before Timeform closed its mail order operation in 2020. Likewise, the weekly Timeform Black Book, which first was first published in 1948, and the ‘Chasers & Hurdlers’ annual, which was first published in 1975/1976, are now, sadly, consigned to the past. As departing publishing editor Geoff Greetham put it, ‘Nothing lasts forever, but the Timeform annuals have stood the test of time for longer than most and will still remain as a permanent written history of the sport.’

Who owned Dawn Run?

Dawn Run etched her name, indelibly, into the annals of Cheltenham Festival history when, in 1986, she became the first and, so far, only horse to complete the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double. Trained by the late Paddy Mullins in Co. Kilkenny, Dawn Run was ridden to her two greatest triumphs by Jonjo O’Neill, but only after her regular partner Tony Mullins was ‘jocked off’ by owner Charmian Hill on both occasions.

At the age of 62, Hill, a.k.a. the ‘Galloping Granny’, had ridden Dawn Run on her first three starts, before being deemed too old to continue riding by the Turf Club. Nevertheless, she pulled no punches when it came to riding arrangements for her horse; Paddy Mullins made no secret of the fact that, ferocious as Dawn Run was, she was still easier to handle than her owner.

After missing most of the 1984/85 season through injury, Dawn Run took her career record to 3-3 over fences by winning at Punchestown and Leopardstown in December, 1985, before heading to Cheltenham for the Holsten Distributors Chase in January, 1986. Sent off at 4/9 favourite, Dawn Run made a mistake at the final open ditch and unseated Tony Mullins, leading to speculation that, despite winning 15 races on the mare, he would be replaced for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Sure enough, he was and the rest, as they say, is history.

Did Andrew Turnell once have a runner in the Derby?

The short answer is yes, he did. Formerly a successful National Hunt jockey with 482 winners to his name, Andrew ‘Andy’ Turnell turned to training following the death of his father, Bob, in 1982. In 2013, he suffered a stroke, which curtailed his training career and, two years later, he handed the training licence at his yard in Broad Hinton, Wiltshire to his assistant, Sally Randell.

However, in his heyday, during the Eighties and Nineties, Turnell was best known as a National Hunt trainer. Indeed, from his original base in East Hendred, Oxfordshire he famously sent out the 1987 Grand National winner, Maori Venturi, in the colours of 92-year-old Jim Joel. Turnell also tasted success at the Cheltenham Festival, saddling Katabatic to victory in the Grand Annual Chase in 1990 and, more importantly, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1991.

As far as the Derby was concerned, Turnell saddled his one and only runner in the Epsom Classic in 2002, by which time he had moved to the historic Highfield Stables in Malton, North Yorkshire. The colt in question was Jelani, a son of French Derby winner Darshaan, who had won once from three starts as a juvenile, but finished only fifth of nine, beaten 4¾ lengths, behind Moon Ballad in the Dante Stakes at York on his first start as a three-year-old.

At Epsom, Jelani was sent off joint rank outsider of the twelve runners at 100/1, but belied those odds by finishing fourth. Jelani lost his place at halfway and was soon pushed along by jockey Fergal Lynch but, although struggling in eighth place on the home turn, ran on again in the final quarter of mile. He proved no match for the Aidan O’Brien-trained pair High Chaparral and Hawk Wing, who pulled 12 lengths clear of the third horse, Moon Ballad, but was beaten just a length by his old rival.

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