Bestinthewest, Sureamsomething best at Corbiewood

The first race of seven saw William Greenhorn partnered with George Carson's GDs Twist; the duo were engaged in an early battle for supremacy with West End Alf and George Drysdale.

GDs Twist was able to make use of his rail position, holding the inside line and forcing West End Alf to tuck in behind in second. The pace was hot as they passed the first quarter marker in 29.1, but when it became clear that Greenhorn was looking to get a breather into the leader, Stuart Mackenzie tipped out with the in-form Starzapan from fifth to mount a challenge approaching the half.

These two went head-to-head for the remainder of the race but as they rounded the final bend the long-time leader rallied and stayed on better to win by three quarters of a length from Starzapan. West End Alf, having chased the leaders throughout, ran a season's best to finish third.

Race 1 (click for replay)

1st GDs Twist (Daylon Alert-Another Suzy) – W Greenhorn

2nd Starzapan (Genghis Pan-Starry Nite) – S Mackenzie

3rd West End Alf (The Cammissioner-Red Emilie) – G Drysdale

7 Ran Time: 2.04.55 Dist.: 3/4L & 3/4L

In the second event, George Drysdale sprinted from the gate to lead comfortably with My Left Foot to put himself in a position to control the race, with recent Aberystwyth winner and main betting market rival Evenwooddancinjess (Grant Cullen) in second. The leader set sedate fractions, going through the half in 1.05.

Alarmed by the slow fractions, the drivers in behind began to mount their challenges. Cullen tipped out first with Evenwooddancinjess, eager to spur the leader on, then came Ayr Confusion and Nicola MacGregor with a threatening challenge until going off-stride at the three quarter marker. From this point, My Left Foot cruised home unchallenged. Wellfield Alfie (Hugh Menzies) stayed on well to grab second close home from Evenwooddancinjess.

Race 2 (for replay click here)

1st My Left Foot (The Firepan-Slim Shady) – G Drysdale

2nd Wellfield Alfie (Village Connection-Garys Advice) – H Menzies

3rd Evenwooddancinjess (The Firepan-Im The Last) – G Cullen

6 Ran Time: 2.07.33 Dist.: 1 1/2L & Head

Race three saw Porterstown Keith (Stephen Cairney) and Springfield Gem (Grant Cullen) duel for the first half to gain the lead, with the latter eventually taking up the running just before the half mile marker. The remainder of the field sat patiently behind throughout this early battle; Vyrnwy Smoke, who had sat at the rear from the start made a big move in the third quarter of the race, when driver Lauren Moran tipped out and circumnavigated the entire field in one fell swoop.

The horse streaked clear to win by open lengths, to record a fourth victory in as many weeks. Springfield Gem held on for second in a bunch finish, with Yokalady (Richard Haythornthwaite) staying on for third.

Race 3 Click Here for Replay

1st Vyrnwy Smoke (Backnthesaddleapan-Vyrnwy Victory) – L Moran

2nd Springfield Gem (Daylon Alert-Double Density) – G Cullen

3rd Yokalady (Daylon Alert-Yoko Hall) – R Haythornthwaite

7 Ran Time: 2.07.10 Dist.: 8L & Neck

The first of two Maiden and Novice combined events saw seven runners go to post. It was Mooreside Watson (Richard Thomson) who showed the best gate speed to take up the running; the leader raced freely and unchallenged throughout. As the field approached the three quarter marker the field began to bunch up and close on the leader.

The race then featured three different leaders within the final eighth: Coalford Mystery (George Drysdale) was the first to pass the long-time leader; GDs Baby (William Drysdale) then came with a three-wide challenge and briefly took over the lead, until Millie May West (Stuart Mackenzie), who was forced to travel four-wide along the standside rail, charged home under a well-timed drive to victory.

Race 4

1st Millie May West (Hasty Hall-Aprilmaywest) – S Mackenzie

2nd GDs Baby (Daylon Alert-GDs Twin) – W Drysdale

3rd Coalford Mystery (Wolfdancer Mindale-Coalford Surprise) – G Drysdale

7 Ran Time: 2.08.96 Dist.: 1 1/2L & 1L

For replay click here

The fifth race saw another eight maidens and novices face the starter. Live In Star (Grant Cullen) failed to make use of the pole position when faltering at the start, which allowed Crosshill Ace (William Drysdale) and Dynamic Ace (William Greenhorn) to make the running from the outer two gate positions.

The latter assumed control and dictated the pace throughout. The field raced in Indian file, with the leader setting level fractions throughout; the sole, and brief, challenge came from the two-year-old Crosshill Ace as they rounded the final bend, however the leader kicked on and came away to win comfortably. Howdya Likemenow (Richard Haythornthwaite), who had sat in third throughout, finished in the same position.

Race 5 For Replay Click Here

1st Dynamic Ace (Windsong Dynamite-Dillys Red Ace) – W Greenhorn

2nd Crosshill Ace (Cams Card Shark-Vain In Spain) – W Drysdale

3rd Howdya Likemenow (Pro Bono Best-Decode) – R Haythornthwaite

8 Ran Time: 2.06.64 Dist.: 2L & 7L

The penultimate race was the second STAGBI Future Broodmares Race staged at Corbiewood this year and saw the same three horses take home the medals, with a reversal of position of the first two. San Diego (John Allan) led out with the previous race winner ATM (Hugh Menzies) hot in pursuit.

The two became embroiled in a lengthy speed duel, with San Diego finally conceding towards the three quarters. Sureamsomething (William Greenhorn), who had landed in a perfect rail position from a bad draw, was driven to follow ATM's cover and this proved to be the decisive factor in the race, as Kikis Virtue (Stuart Mackenzie) found herself trapped behind the tiring San Diego at a vital stage.

Sureamsomething was then produced fast and late to pass the gallant ATM on the run in, to reverse the placings from last month's staging of this race. This gave Greenhorn back to back winners for trainer Alex Hay, and his driving treble on the night.

Race 6 For Replay Click Here

1st Sureamsomething (Wolfdancer Mindale-Suream Smart) – W Greenhorn

2nd ATM (Genghis Pan-Yoko Hall) – H Menzies

3rd Kikis Virtue (Scarlet And Gold-Coalford Virtue) – S Mackenzie

8 Ran Time: 2.04.12 Dist.: 1 3/4L & 1L

The final event was a hotly-anticipated contest for pacers aged ten years and over.

The combined number of lifetime starts of the eight runners was 723, with a combined number of lifetime wins of 117. Three horses aged 10, three horses aged 11, and two horses aged 13 faced the starter. Live In Toyboy (Grant Cullen) was aggressive behind the start car and led out easily, with Ayr Escape (Gordon Gilvear) landing in second on the rail.

Ladyford Lad (Lauren Moran) found himself parked with no cover and no space on the rail as Bestinthewest (Brian Gilvear) closed the gap. The race progressed with little change, as the field went through the half in 1.01. The first move came from Bestinthewest, who took cover from Ladyford Lad who in turn was eyeballing the long-time leader; as the field raced down the back stretch inside the final quarter, Bestinthewest tipped three wide and hit top gear, levelling up to the long-time leader as they faced the run in and kicking on coming home.

Ladyford Lad stayed on tremendously after a tough trip. The eight horses finished within 1.2 seconds of each other, despite Colonel Mustard faltering at the start and losing ground.

The owners, trainers and drivers of these horses should be commended for their efforts in keeping these horses competitive, healthy and sound for so long. It is hoped that they can continue to race with credit for the remainder of the 2016 season and beyond.

Race 7 For Replay Click Here

1st Bestinthewest (Cammibest-Party West) – B Gilvear

2nd Live In Toyboy (Village Jasper-Live In Lover) – G Cullen

3rd Ladyford Lad (Hasty Hall-Just Disraeli) – L Moran

8 Ran Time: 2.05.41 Dist.: 1L & 1L

The next race meeting at Corbiewood will be Thursday 28th July, first race 7.30pm.