'It’s really good to start with a bang' - 265 horses left without a run at Bath due to bumper declarations

Bath is set to kick off its new season “with a bang” after Arena Racing Company’s (Arc) decision to offer bumper prize-money on Good Friday was rewarded with a mammoth 369 horses declared for the bank holiday fixture.

A total of 408 entries were made for the seven-race card, which consists of five Class 6 handicaps and two Class 5 handicaps offering £200,000 in prize-money.

With most connections opting to stand their ground at Wednesday’s declaration stage, 265 horses were unable to get a run. The Truespeed Business Broadband Handicap (3.25) had 72 declared but the maximum field size for the 1m3½f event is 14, reflecting oversubscribed races across the card.

Maximum fields were declared at Lingfield’s All-Weather Championships vase meeting on the same day, with Arc putting up £395,000 at the Surrey venue, complementing the £1.05 million headline event of finals day at Newcastle.

“It’s really good to have the numbers we’ve got,” said Bath’s executive director Simon Tonge. “It’s very exciting for the group with Lingfield and Newcastle as well. Arena have put a lot of money into the whole day and we’re feeling the benefits from a runners' perspective. We had it [the Good Friday meeting] in 2017 through to 2019, so it’s really good to get the meeting back after the extended break at the back end of last season.”

The return of the bank holiday fixture is a welcome boost for Bath, which has not staged a meeting since July 12. A prolonged spell of dry and warm weather at a course without a watering system meant the track could not host its last nine scheduled meetings of 2022.

Fixtures were transferred to other Arc tracks such as Southwell and Wolverhampton, while the finals of the track’s annual Sprint and Stayers’ Series had to be held at Chepstow and Ffos Las as remedial works on the turf took place at Bath.

“Last summer, with the season curtailed, was challenging,” Tonge said. “Our grounds team have put a real shift in over the winter months to get the surface back. We’re really hopeful that owners, trainers, jockeys and paying customers will be really impressed with the surface on Friday.”

The lure of Bath’s lucrative meeting has attracted 78 different trainers or training partnerships. Cormac Farrell will have his first British Flat runner since February 2011, with the County Wexford-based trainer sending Dundalk regular Un Bacio Ancora for the Truespeed Home Broadband Fillies' Handicap (2.15)

Jim Goldie has never saddled a runner at Bath in his 29-year training career but has chosen the track as the destination for the seasonal reappearances of Grand Canal (3.25), Epona Pas (4.35) and Cosa Sara (5.10), who will make the near 900-mile round trip from Uplawmoor, near Glasgow.

Jim Goldie: set to have his first runners at Bath on Good FridayCredit: John Grossick

Nicky Henderson, who will be preoccupied with the Lambourn Open Day, has not missed the opportunity, sending King Eagle (3.25) to make his first start since switching from Michael Bell.

Tonge said: “We were looking at entries yesterday and the length and breadth of the country that has supported is phenomenal. It’s really good for these trainers to be travelling so far.”

One trainer who had hoped to make an even longer journey was Christian von der Recke, who is based near Cologne in Germany, but Tiki Fire, Aberfoyle, Cabot Cliffs and Bearcardi all failed to make the cut. Von der Recke, whose British successes include Moneytrain in the Triumph Hurdle trial at Cheltenham (2003) and Fieppes Shuffle in the Desert Orchid Chase (2008), said: “There’s no point me arguing with the rules of the country where I run, I never do that.

“I always appreciate the friendship and the welcome in Britain and I’ve had lots of free lunches at the racecourse. I love coming over but if it doesn’t work, it’s nobody’s fault. I’d even done the carnet [VAT] papers for these four horses and they were ready to rock and roll but it didn’t go to plan, so we’ll have to make a new one.”

 Good Friday is expected to attract Bath’s biggest crowd of the year, and Tonge said: “Hospitality-wise, we’re pretty much sold out. We’re selling hundreds of tickets every day at the moment so there’s a real sense of excitement and the weather forecast looks good. There’s lots of entertainment for the family and it should be a cracking day.

“It’s going to be a busy day, probably one of our busiest if not our busiest raceday of the year. It’s really good to start with a bang.”

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