David Brace and Sean Bowen among winners in upgraded Welsh Horseracing Awards

Long-standing owner-breeder David Brace was left in tears as he received the top prize of the night at the Welsh Horseracing Awards on Thursday.

A switch from Chepstow to the International Conference Centre in Newport meant an extra 250 guests, 350 in total, could celebrate the achievements in Welsh racing in an event run in association with the Racehorse Owners Association. BHA chief executive Julie Harrington was among those in attendance.

Brace, who has bred and owned horses from his Dunraven Stud, was celebrated on the night for his service to racing and point-to-pointing.

"It's fantastic and a real surprise," he said. "It's been a long road to get here and great one too. This has brilliant night, it's a great event and it's come a long way. I'm really thrilled to win it."

Sean Bowen won jump jockey of the year and Evan Williams jump trainer of the year, while David Probert and David Evans got the same accolade in the Flat category.

Thoughts were firmly with Sam Thomas and Dai Walters as they were absent following a helicopter crash earlier this week. They received special recognition awards along with Peter Bowen and Bangor's retiring general manager Jeannie Chantler.

Steve and Jackie Fleetham won the jumps breeder of the year prize thanks to the success of Mac Tottie while Group 1 winner Pyledriver gave breeders Wells and Roger Devlin an equivalent success. His owners La Pyle Partnership were also named Flat owners of the year.

Special recognition prizes were also given to connections of Win My Wings, Coole Cody, Prime Venture and five-time winner Blaze A Trail.

Cork manager 'very confident' Sunday card will go ahead despite waterlogging

Racecourse manager Andrew Hogan expects Sunday's Cork Grand National card to go ahead as planned despite the track being partially waterlogged.

Conditions at Cork were described as heavy on Thursday morning following 20mm of rain in the previous 24 hours, with further showers due on Thursday.

A dry spell is expected on Friday before rain overnight Friday into Saturday morning.

Hogan said: "I'm very confident that Sunday's meeting will be able to go ahead as planned. I'd expect conditions to have cleared up even further over the course of the next day so we're confident all will be fine for the fixture."

The €45,000 Paddy Power Cork Grand National Handicap Chase takes centre stage at the Mallow venue on Sunday but the track also plays host to a Grade 3 novice chase and Listed novice hurdle.

Teenage amateur John Gleeson's fine season continues with Gentlemen's League win

Up-and-coming Irish amateur jockey John Gleeson has been crowned leading rider in this year's Gentlemen's League Fegentri Championship.

Despite missing out on the final leg of the series at Compiegne on Saturday when riding in a bumper at Galway, the 18-year-old prevailed at the head of the standings from the Czech Republic's Tereza Polesna and France's Romain Lemiere, who shared second place.

John Gleeson: has made strong start to season in Ireland with ten winnersCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Victory in the opening event of the six-race competition at Cork in May aboard Thedancingfarrier ensured Gleeson got off to a strong start against his international rivals, but it was his second in the penultimate leg of the series at Pardubice that sealed his championship win.

Gleeson, son of well-known ITV and RTE Racing broadcaster Brian, has got off to a flying start to the Irish jumps season, partnering ten winners from just 40 mounts.

The 7lb claimer is currently balancing his riding career alongside his final year of secondary school studies.

Tote to offer £100,000 Placepot daily during jumps season

The Tote will be offering a Placepot with a pool of at least £100,000 at a selected meeting daily during the jumps season.

There will be a £250,000 Placepot each Saturday, with big meetings at Aintree, Cheltenham, Haydock and Newbury to feature next month.

The daily £100,000 Placepot begins at Kempton’s all-weather fixture on Monday, with the midweek meetings this week at Warwick, Chepstow, Newbury and Newcastle also selected.

Equine paintings to go on exhibition at London gallery

The Osborne Studio Gallery in London will display a collection of works by equine artist Hubert de Watrigant from November 3.

His Straight from the Studio exhibition is open until November 18 and includes scenes from racecourses, including Royal Ascot. It is the ninth time his work has been displayed at the gallery since 1976.

"Since my last exhibition in 2018, I thought I would give my pencils and brushes a rest, but I found myself spending whole days painting. In the quietness of my studio and the surrounding landscapes, my work has been transformed in a peaceful way," said De Watrigant.

HRI regains control of direct-to-home pictures

Irish racing's direct-to-home (DTH) pictures will remain on Racing TV until the end of 2028, but Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has regained control of that decision in the latest contract renewal talks.

When the contract last came up for renegotiation in 2016, SIS won the exclusive licence for that element for a first time in a five-year deal. It meant HRI and the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) had limited autonomy in terms of where SIS sold the DTH rights, and both authorities were ultimately rendered powerless when SIS cut a deal with Racecourse Media Group (RMG) in 2018 to have the pictures broadcast from what was then Racing UK.

Irish racing's move from At The Races, now Sky Sports Racing, to what became Racing TV kicked off on January 1, 2019. On Tuesday, after a protracted tender process that stretched back to early 2021, HRI confirmed that SIS had been selected as its preferred partner for the Licensed Betting Offices, Streaming & Digital and International Fixed Odds elements of the media rights deal that runs from 2024 to 2028.

It stated separately that RMG was the preferred bidder for the DTH, Free-To-Air UK and International Tote strands, and sources have since confirmed that HRI has this time retained control of those aspects. Further negotiations are continuing to finalise the proposed agreement and none of the parties involved are willing to comment while that process is ongoing.

New head for BHA judicial panel

Sarah Crowther KC has been confirmed as chair of the BHA’s independent judicial panel, succeeding His Honour Brian Barker CBE KC. She will take up her position in January.

BHA chair Joe Saumarez Smith said: "I am delighted that we have been able to appoint somebody of the calibre of Sarah Crowther to this most important position. Her breadth of knowledge and experience is deeply impressive and I wish her every success in her tenure.

"I would also like to place on record the thanks of the BHA board to Brian Barker for his six years of service. He was appointed at a time of considerable change for the sport and has overseen the panel's development into one of the leading bodies of its kind anywhere in sport. We are grateful for his diligence and hard work and wish him all the best for the future."

Fall killed former stable worker

A former Newmarket stable worker died as the result of a fall in an alcohol-related accident, a coroner ruled on Monday.

Donna Price, 43, was discovered at an address in New Cheveley Road in Newmarket on the evening of August 7 last year, with a post-mortem finding her injuries were "consistent with a fall from a height".

A former work-rider, Price was well known in Newmarket and worked for trainers including Mick Ryan and Hugo Palmer.

Two men had initially been arrested on suspicion of murder, but Suffolk Police confirmed the case had been closed.

Funeral of Gerald Cottrell

The funeral of former trainer Gerald Cottrell, who died last week at the age of 97, will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, November 5 at Kentisbeare Church, near Cullompton in Devon.

Donations to the Injured Jockeys Fund and Devon Air Ambulance.

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