Cheltenham's final fixture for professional riders has been dedicated to promoting races for mares for the past 10 years or so, set up at the instigation of BHA to provide a platform for British breeders to showcase their wares. And in truth, it's taken that long for the whole mares programme to win traction successfully.
That Honeysuckle won the Champion Hurdle is a fillip for the distaff side of the equation, since a majority of horses in training remain geldings. Slowly but surely, mares - and British-bred ones at that - are improving in quality and quantity to keep the numbers of horses in training up, and to improve the breeding stock around the UK.
Among those early adopters of training fillies and mares is Alan King, rewarded today with Grade III black type for juvenile Her Indoors, winner of the NAF Fillies Juvenile Handicap under Adrian Heskin. Alan had targetted this horse at the race after running second in a similar contest in December at Aintree. She was a little outpaced in the Fred Winter (aka Boodles) at the Festival.
The winner is part owned by Max McNeill, enthusiastic owner of good horses, like The World's End,with several trainers, including also Tom George, Olly Murphy and Gordon Elliott, and founder of Festival sponsor Ultima Business Solutions.
Also successful on this card was Mel Rowley, whose Maisemore winner The Player Queen is now unbeaten in her two runs. After winning her Maisemore Maiden in October, she was prominent throughout, and led 100 yards from the post to deny Brian Hughes a second winner of the day. He remains 2 behind Harry Skelton in the race for the title with 9 days' racing to go.
Cheltenham's final fixture for professional riders has been dedicated to promoting races for mares for the past 10 years or so, set up at the instigation of BHA to provide a platform for British breeders to showcase their wares. And in truth, it's taken that long for the whole mares programme to win traction successfully.
That Honeysuckle won the Champion Hurdle is a fillip for the distaff side of the equation, since a majority of horses in training remain geldings. Slowly but surely, mares - and British-bred ones at that - are improving in quality and quantity to keep the numbers of horses in training up, and to improve the breeding stock around the UK.
Among those early adopters of training fillies and mares is Alan King, rewarded today with Grade III black type for juvenile Her Indoors, winner of the NAF Fillies Juvenile Handicap under Adrian Heskin. Alan had targetted this horse at the race after running second in a similar contest in December at Aintree. She was a little outpaced in the Fred Winter (aka Boodles) at the Festival.
The winner is part owned by Max McNeill, enthusiastic owner of good horses, like The World's End,with several trainers, including also Tom George, Olly Murphy and Gordon Elliott, and founder of Festival sponsor Ultima Business Solutions.
Also successful on this card was Mel Rowley, whose Maisemore winner The Player Queen is now unbeaten in her two runs. After winning her Maisemore Maiden in October, she was prominent throughout, and led 100 yards from the post to deny Brian Hughes a second winner of the day. He remains 2 behind Harry Skelton in the race for the title with 9 days' racing to go.
Buy your tickets now
