Grace Harris was out of luck when her ambitious bid for a Royal Ascot breakthrough went astray last Friday.
The trainer, based in Shirenewton, saddled Exclamation in the Palace Of Holyroodhouse and the three-year-old may have been fancied by some to outrun his odds, especially as he was a winner at 33-1 at Chester in May.
He did run moderately at York after that, so went off a 125-1 shot for the 5f handicap, which carried prize-money of £120,000. Drawn unfavourably in stall six on the far side, the grey had a midfield position under promising apprentice Ashley Lewis but could not sustain his effort and weakened in the closing stages, trailing in 25th of the 27 runners.
Harris will not, however, lose any faith in her stable star, who was a useful two-year-old last term and could fire once more in calmer waters.
There was not much joy either for Harris and Lewis at Doncaster on Saturday, when Oasis Sunrise lined up in a 1m4f handicap.
On paper, she had a much better chance than her stablemate and, after winning her last two, was sent off the 15-8 favourite.
Racing in second, she was shaken up by her rider two furlongs from home but had little left late on and faded into fourth, albeit she was not beaten far and the steady pace of the contest may have been against her as well.
One of Chepstow’s local trainers to record a recent winner was Christopher Mason, whose Truly Glamorous emerged on top at Windsor last Monday.
The gelding used to be trained by John O’Shea but is now with the Carwent-based Mason and ran with credit on his debut for the operation at the same track at the start of May.
In the hands of Gina Mangan, who has a fine record when riding for Mason, Truly Glamorous was prominent on the outer and led when he hung right over a furlong out. Mangan then had to get serious with the son of Ardad, who kept on well to seal victory.
Only Hollie Doyle has ridden more winners at Chepstow in the last five seasons than Mangan, who will be eager to make her mark at the venue on Saturday if she is required to be there.
Seven races are programmed and the first is due off at 5.35pm. The feature is a mile handicap at 7.50pm, but the 6f novice for two-year-olds (6.10pm) should also prove informative.
Gates open at 3.50pm and it is the course’s annual ladies’ day, which features style awards hosted by former Love Island star Olivia Bowen, whose husband Alex will play a DJ set after racing.
Hospitality packages are still available and a summer party atmosphere is promised, while more details can be found on Chepstow’s website.
The following meeting after that comes on Friday of next week, when the action gets underway at 4.37pm.
