Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards to be shown live on Racing TV

The 2021 Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards will be shown live and free-to-air on Racing TV for the first time in the ceremony's history on February 22.

Nominations for the prestigious competition, which celebrates the work of stable and stud staff in Britain, close on Tuesday at 5pm and can be made by visiting www.studandstablestaffawards.co.uk.

The 2021 ceremony will be held virtually, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Racing TV will be hosting a dedicated awards show with finalists watching from home.

Lindsay Davidson, deputy director of broadcast at Racing TV, said: "These awards are without doubt the most meaningful on the horseracing calendar, and Racing TV has been delighted to support the event over the years with the filming of nominee videos, as well as being an event partner.

"We're therefore delighted to extend our involvement by ‘hosting’ the awards from the Racing TV studio. The format of the show is still being established but will include live link-ups to the nominees and, with it being free-to-air, we are looking forward to bringing the Awards to a new and even wider audience."

Scholfield set for stint on sidelines after freak leg break at Fontwell

Nick Scholfield is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a broken leg in a freak incident at Fontwell on Friday.

Scholfield was injured after finishing fourth on Shintori in the 2m2f handicap chase when the riderless Go Steady, who had unshipped Bridget Andrews three fences from home, cannoned into the duo as the jockey was pulling up his mount.

He was sent to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, where x-rays revealed that he had fractured his right tibia, and he was forced to sit out Wincanton's valuable card on Saturday, which included the ride on the well-fancied Champagne Court in the Badger Beers Trophy.

While he will spend at least a handful of weeks away from action, Scholfield is aiming to return to the saddle in time for the busy Christmas period.

"It's obviously not ideal and it was really unfortunate," the jockey said. "The loose horse collided with my horse and T-boned me and my leg was wedged in the middle.

"It's a crucial time in the season for us at the moment, but it's hard to cry too much about it with coronavirus and the current situation we are in. I'll be working very hard to get back in action as soon as I can."

Goodwood rides to the rescue of Children in Need's Rickshaw Challenge

Goodwood might have been unable to welcome crowds this year, but the racecourse will play host to some important guests after coming to the rescue of BBC Children in Need.

The Rickshaw Challenge fundraising event will take place within the grounds of the Goodwood estate, starting on Friday and broadcast live on The One Show each night.

The annual eight-day challenge, which is in its tenth year, takes on a different format due to Covid-19 restrictions, with presenter Matt Baker and a team of six young people riding the equivalent of the 332-mile journey from Edinburgh to London on the Goodwood motor circuit and surrounding internal roads.

Adam Waterworth, managing director of Goodwood racecourse, said: "With current restrictions in place the BBC can't do what they'd normally do and, having been in touch with the government, the organisers came to us to see if they could do it at Goodwood.

"We have the motor circuit and a lot of internal roads on the estate, which is a secured site and not open to the public, so they can do the entire challenge here."

The One Show is scheduled to be broadcast live from the parade ring during the challenge and some of the racecourse facilities will be used by the crew and support network, all in a Covid secure manner.

"It's great to be able to help with such a major fundraising activity and hopefully they will raise the huge sums of money they normally do," said Waterworth.

"A lot of the fundraising efforts for all charities have been heavily impacted with events not taking place and it's something we've seen in racing with the likes of Racing Welfare during the first lockdown."

High-class chaser Cloudy Dream retired after long absence

Grade 2-winning chaser Cloudy Dream, a bridesmaid in many top races having finished second to Altior, Native River and Buveur D'Air among others, has been retired due to injury.

The Trevor Hemmings-owned ten-year-old had been off the track since picking up a suspensory injury when a close-up third to Frodon in the 2018 Old Roan Chase on his first start for Donald McCain.

Cloudy Dream and Brian Hughes on the way to success in the Future Champions Chase at AyrCredit: John Grosssick

Hemmings' racing manager Mick Meagher said: "He's had a recurrence of an old injury and that's it for him. He's been a grand horse with some cracking form, he was second to winners of the Champion Chase [Altior], Gold Cup [Native River] and Champion Hurdle [Buveur D'Air].

"It was a pretty bad injury in the Old Roan and it was 50-50 whether we'd get him back. It just started to heat up again, but his leg is sound and he'll be retired to the Isle Of Man."

Cloudy Dream chased home Altior in the 2017 Arkle before winning the Grade 2 Future Champion Novices' Chase at Ayr the following month for late trainer Malcolm Jefferson.

The grey won seven of his 21 starts, finishing runner-up on nine other occasions, and accumulated £258,345 in prize-money.

Boost for Murtagh with first runner for Coolmore

Johnny Murtagh's burgeoning training career has been given another boost, with the Group 1-winning handler set to have his first runner for the Coolmore operation at Dundalk on Friday night.

Ever A Dream, a homebred daughter of Australia, is the only filly Murtagh has been sent from Coolmore to date and will run in the colours of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs John Magnier, making her debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden (6.15).

The Fox Covert Stables handler was bolstered last month by news that the Aga Khan will send him a draft of yearlings this year, and the legendary rider's renewed association with another of his former employers is further evidence of his progress in recent seasons as a trainer.

Coincidentally, Murtagh rode Ever A Dream's dam Queen Of France to finish third in the Listed Salsabil Stakes at Dundalk on her final start before retiring to the breeding sheds.

"She's the first filly we've had [for Coolmore]," said the man who has sent out 41 winners so far this season. "We've had her for a while, she came early in the spring."

He added: "We've had great times together and I was very lucky to have ridden around 50 Group 1 winners for them so it's lovely to have been sent a nice filly.

"It's her debut and we're hoping she'll run well but she's bred to be a better three-year-old than two-year-old."

West Country open day to go virtual this weekend

A virtual open day that will give behind-the-scenes insight and access to some of the top trainers across the West Country will take place this Sunday, November 8.

Racing Welfare is set to host the 'Virtual West Open Day' and viewers will be treated to exclusive video content from the likes of Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill, Henry Daly and Richard Phillips.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls is also set to take part with a stellar line-up of his stars on show, including Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Politologue, fans' favourite Frodon and Britain's highest-rated chaser, Cyrname.

Racing Welfare's Instagram page will be taken over by various trainers throughout the day including Dan Skelton, who will broadcast a schooling session from his yard with his brother and stable jockey, Harry.

Dawn Goodfellow, chief executive of Racing Welfare, said: "I can’t think of a better way of welcoming the return of the National Hunt season than through our Virtual West Open Day. This area is steeped in jumping history and it is a pleasure to be able to showcase the region to a national audience."

Individuals can sign up to the open day here.

Racing Welfare on call as second lockdown starts in England

Racing Welfare’s befriending service is available to anyone in racing and breeding, or who is retired from the industry, as England enters a second national lockdown from Thursday until December 2.

Volunteers for the charity have made over 350 hours of calls, designed to combat loneliness and isolation within the racing industry, on a weekly basis since the first lockdown in March.

Patricia Baxter, 73, who worked in racing for 30 years, said: “It can be a very lonely time and having someone to chat to makes everything a little easier. Racing Welfare have really made a difference over the years and speaking to them is just lovely.”

Racing Welfare has received a significant funding boost from the Racing Foundation

To receive befriending calls, individuals can contact Racing Welfare on 0800 6300 443 or visit racingwelfare.co.uk for more information.

Lockdown trial offered

To coincide with the second lockdown in England, which began on Thursday, Racing TV will be offering a free one-month trial to all new and reinstating customers.

Racing TV's director of communications, Seb Vance, said: “Free trialists can join from Thursday to November 27. The free trial enables viewers to watch on unlimited devices and there will be more details at racingtv.com from Thursday."

HRI awards nominees announced

The nominees for the 2020 Horse Racing Ireland Awards have been announced, with a virtual awards ceremony set to take place in early December.

Two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo faces four rivals in the prestigious Horse of the Year category.

Unbeaten pair Envoi Allen and Honeysuckle, as well as dual Classic winner Love and multiple Group 1 winner Magical, are the other nominees.

There are eight categories in all and seven of the winners will be decided by a ballot of the Irish racing media – Horse of the Year, National Hunt Award, National Hunt Achievement Award, Flat Award, Flat Achievement Award, Point-to-Point Award and the Emerging Talent Award, which was presented for the first time last year.

A public vote will decide the outcome of the 2020 Ride of the Year winner with the contenders to be announced soon.

Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead, Rachael Blackmore and Paul Townend are the five nominated in the National Hunt Award category. There are also five nominees for the Flat Award: Ger Lyons, Johnny Murtagh, Aidan O’Brien, Joseph O'Brien and Colin Keane.

There are six nominees for the Flat Achievement Award: Kieran Cotter, Donnacha O'Brien, Dermot Weld, Tony Mullins, Emmet McNamara and Seamie Heffernan.

The four nominees for the National Hunt Achievement Award are Eugene and Maxine O’Sullivan, Patrick Mullins, Charles Byrnes and Darragh O'Keeffe.

The Point-to-Point category is made up of Colin Bowe, Barry O’Neill, Mark O’Hare and Rob James while the nominees for the Emerging Talent Award are Joey Sheridan, Shane Crosse, Gavin Ryan, Dylan Browne McMonagle and Sean O'Keeffe.

Point-to-point racing to be shut down during lockdown, indicates PPA

The Point-to-Point Authority (PPA) has indicated that point-to-point racing in England will no longer be able to continue while the country is placed back into lockdown.

The season only got up and running less than a fortnight ago with meetings in Devon and Gloucestershire, but it now appears to be heading for a shutdown, although the PPA is awaiting news from Wednesday's parliamentary debate before making a definitive decision.

In their statement, the PPA said: "The last two weeks have demonstrated that we can run point-to-point safely.

"However, we must comply with government regulations and requirements. At the moment that suggests point-to-point racing will not be possible in this period of lockdown. However, we will make a definitive statement following the parliamentary debate on Wednesday to avoid any risk of further confusion."

Brighton and Worcester futures secure, says Arc

Arena Racing Company has denied two of its racecourses could shut after it was reported on Monday that Brighton and Worcester face possible closure.

An article in the Daily Mail said both tracks, which have staged racing since the 18th century, could close their doors permanently next year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite racing's resumption in early June, Brighton and Worcester were forced to abandon plans to stage their summer meetings and Arc announced in late July neither course would host any fixtures scheduled for the rest of the year.

But Arc has denied the venues face closure and both tracks are expected to stage meetings next year. PR and communications manager Sam Cone said: "I can confirm the speculation is simply not true.

"Both racecourses certainly have fixtures planned for April next year, which is as far as the current 2021 fixture list goes at the moment."

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