Sprinter Sacre to parade before Portman Cup at Taunton on Saturday

Yala Enki bids for a hat-trick in Taunton's feature £50,000 Portman Cup but there is an even more popular veteran making an appearance at the Somerset track on Saturday.

Prior to the 3m4½f event, the two-mile chasing great Sprinter Sacre will be parading and no doubt will prove popular with racegoers on the BioWaveGo-sponsored card.

The now 16-year-old Sprinter Sacre will be paraded by Vicki Roberts, with whom he is enjoying his time after racing in Gloucestershire.

Sprinter Sacre was a top-level stalwart for Nicky Henderson, winning 18 of his 24 races under rules including the Arkle, Clarence House Chase and two runnings of the Champion Chase.

Jason Loosemore, Taunton's clerk of the course, said: "It's exciting to have Sprinter Sacre parading before our big race and it's a lovely addition to the day. He's a legend of the sport and bound to attract a few more people to come and see him."

Date set for funeral of popular jockey Taffy Thomas

The funeral of former popular lightweight jockey Taffy Thomas will take place at noon on Thursday, January 27 at West Suffolk Crematorium at Bury St Edmunds.

Thomas, who rode nearly 900 winners in a career that spanned 30 years, died in a hospice in Cambridge last Wednesday aged 76.

After the funeral service there is to be a celebration of the rider's life at the Rowley Mile racecourse in Newmarket, the scene of many of his big handicap wins in such races as the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch.

Family flowers only and any donations can be made to the Injured Jockeys Fund or Arthur Rank Hospice c/o Southgate Funeral Directors, Newmarket.

Death of top owner Jane Lane at the age of 88

Owner-breeder Jane Lane, who enjoyed major success with popular chasers The Mighty Mac and Call It A Day, has died at the age of 88.

Lane's blue, scarlet and white colours will be best remembered by The Mighty Mac, the crowd-pleasing flamboyant front-runner who was trained by Michael Dickinson to win the 1984 Cathcart Chase, which has since become the Ryanair, at the Cheltenham Festival.

Call It A Day, who was trained by David Nicholson, won the 1998 Whitbread Gold Cup and finished third in Bobbyjo's Grand National in 1999.

Laterly, Lane had horses with Nigel Twiston-Davies, who provided her with her last winner when Muckle Roe won at Warwick in May 2017, and Richard Phillips.

The funeral will take place on Tuesday, January 25 at noon at St Nicholas Church, Lower Oddington, Gloucestershire GL56 0XE.

Applications open for residential week aimed at broadening diversity in racing

Applications have opened for a residential week at an academy set up to support young riders from underrepresented communities, diverse backgrounds and those riding at urban equestrian centres.

The Riding A Dream Academy, funded by the Racing Foundation, was formed after Khadijah Mellah's victory in the 2019 Magnolia Cup at Goodwood when she became the first British Muslim woman to win a race in Britain.

Details of the second residential week for riders aged 14-18, which acts as a fun introduction to British racing, have been announced with the British Racing School at Newmarket again hosting the event, which runs from May 30-June 3.

The closing date for applications, made via the academy's website, is February 13.

ITV presenter Oli Bell, who co-founded the academy alongside Great British Racing’s Naomi Lawson, said: "At the academy we are passionate about providing opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds, who have learnt to ride at an urban equestrian centre or city farm so that we can help to make racing more diverse and inclusive.

"We're thrilled to have supported so many talented riders so far and are looking forward to welcoming our next residential week group later this year.

"We'd love to uncover more stars of the future but more than that, this is about giving opportunities to people who might not otherwise have had it and showing what a wonderful sport racing is."

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