Kelso Races going ahead this week but without Princess Royal’s visit

Hawick racehorse trainer Ewan Whillans with Kaizer, one of eight horses lined up to contest the feature race at Kelso tomorrow (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

Kelso Racecourse’s first meeting of the new season will go ahead tomorrow, September 14, as planned, though the Princess Royal will not be attending following the death of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last Thursday.

Horse-racing nationwide resumed on Sunday, September 11, following two days off as a mark of respect following the monarch’s death at the age of 96, giving officials at Kelso the all-clear to proceed with the first meeting of their bicentenary season.

Race-goers will be asked to observe a period of silence for the Queen prior to the start of racing and jockeys competing on the day will wear black armbands.

Course managing director Jonathan Garratt said: “Given that we’re in a period of official mourning, the mood at the meeting will more sombre than we’d planned, but there will be other days for us to celebrate the bicentenary more actively and we hope that we can find another suitable date for the Princess Royal’s visit.”

The Princess Royal in Edinburgh yesterday for a vigil for her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II (Photo by Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Among the trainers set to be represented is Cumbria’s Nicky Richards, having entered Caius Marcius for the meeting’s feature race, the £25,000 Weatherbys Handicap Hurdle over 2m 4f.

The 11-year-old bay gelding, to be ridden by Sean Quinlan, will be up against seven rivals including Coolbane Boy, trained near Kelso by Sandy Thomson and with Jonathan Burke riding, and Kaizer, trained in Hawick by Ewan Whillans and with town jockey Craig Nichol in the saddle.Richards, 66, of Greystoke, near Penrith, said: “There’s no reason he shouldn’t run his race again.

“He runs mostly over hurdles these days and well done to Kelso for putting on a nice race with good money.

“I’ll leave tactics up to Sean and hopefully it won’t get too soft.

“He’s been a tremendous servant and he seems to stay that little bit further as he’s got older.”

Other opposition to Caius Marcius includes some in-form horses.

Dallas Des Pictons, now with fellow Cumbrian trainer Dianne Sayer, won at Cork on his farewell outing for Gordon Elliott, and the Alex Hales-trained Solo Saxophone and Donald McCain’s Latino Fling are both on hat-tricks.

Gates will open at 1.30pm and the first race is scheduled for 3.40pm.

For details, go to https://www.kelso-races.co.uk/