Wear a jumper to see the jumpers and help a deserving cause

Race go-ers who take their Christmas jumper jumping can help raise funds for charity.

Kelso Races is holding the Persimmon Homes Scottish Borders National Handicap Steeplechase on Sunday, 10 December.
The race-meeting, which is set to have a festive theme and take place amid wintry weather, boasts £115,000 of prize money for the seven-race programme.

Each racegoer who dons a Christmas Jumper in order to attend the races will qualify for a free racecard, normally costing £2.50.

Kelso Races will also donate £1 to the Injured Jockeys’ Fund, whose representatives are currently baking cakes for the track’s charity tea-room, for each racecard that is given away free of charge.

And racegoers are likely to be glad of their woolly jumpers – because the forecast is for a chilly weekend.

Wear a Christmas jumper to the Kelso meeting and you’ll be helping charity

Jonathan Garratt, managing director of Kelso Racecourse said: ‘The track is in fantastic condition. The going is officially Good, Good to-Soft in places and we have a lovely covering of grass. While there is a risk to racing from cold weather at this time of year, we couldn’t be in a better position in terms of coping with lower temperatures.’

Trainer Sandy Thomson and owner Jim Beaumont are chasing a record-breaking fourth straight win in the feature race, the £50,000 Persimmon Homes Scottish Borders National. The pair won last year’s renewal with Harry The Viking, who could be having his career farewell as tries for back-to-back wins. Sandy and Jim also scored in successive years with Neptune Equester in 2014 and 2015. Dancing Shadow, trained in Devon by Victor Dartnall, has had this race marked in his diary since winning Musselburgh’s marathon event last season. He’s an eye-catching entry and is likely to carry top-weight.

The £30,000 Scotty Brand Veterans Chase always attracts a field of popular chasers and, this year, the entries have come from far and wide – with only Micky Hammond’s Dedigout and Malcolm Jefferson’s hat-trick seeking Sun Cloud flying the flag for the north. At his best, the Rebecca Curtis-trained O’Faolains Boy was a top performer, landing the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2014. He looks just the type to run well.

The first race on the programme, the Family Blackshaw Memorial Novices Hurdle, has attracted a huge field of entries including Inniscastle Lad who carries the famous silks of Red Rum. He’s one of three entries for Donald McCain, whose late father trained the triple Grand National hero.

The Scottish Borders Nationa was won last year by with Harry The Viking

A small but select group of young chasers is expected to contest The Paris Pike Novices Steeplechase and it won’t be a surprise if they all go on to win good races. Rose Dobbin hinted this could be the target for Jonniesofa after her Grade 2 winning hurdler returned from a lengthy absence to score on his chasing debut at Carlisle in October.

The third race is named in honour of Alan Clydesdale, a regular Kelso visitor who brought large groups to enjoy the races. James Ewart has been among the winners recently and he is double-handed with Bering Upsun and Charmant, both of whom have chances.

Lucy Alexander has recently returned to action, after a spell on the injury list. Lucy may have the pick of three runners entered by her father, the trainer Nick Alexander, in the final race of the day – the Kristofferson Carpets & Flooring Novices Hurdle.

After Sunday, the next race-meeting at Kelso is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 29.