•The action from the track has so far proved that the off-season has not changed too significantly with the form of most horses holding true, although the margins of victory have shrunk to more bijou proportions.
•There have been a few unexpected surprises, which is an indicator of the intensified competition in the growing fields and the sweeping headway being made in racing.
Image: KABIR DHANJI
The carnival of racing once again entertained patrons and punters with an exciting showcase of competition on Sunday at Ngong Racecourse.
Buoyed by a crowd of over a thousand, with near-perfect summer conditions, the flourishing scene lived up to its expectations.
Sirai Stud’s racing manager, Ms Venetia Philipps, said: "Racing Sundays have become busy, multicultural, fashionable with flamboyant crowds of people enjoying both the races and the other forms of entertainment. Racing is certainly becoming the place to be.”
“It’s definitely the place to be,” said Tom Fraser, a long-time stalwart of racing in Kenya and the current race day commentator.
The 2022/23 champion jockey, Ms Lesley Sercombe said, “I thought it was amazing; the crowd was amazing, it makes such a difference, you can hear them cheering.”
Kenya’s youngest trainer in racing, Tony Kuria, summed up the relationship of the sport, saying: “The crowds are helping to build racing whilst we work hard to make the racing great again.”
The action from the track has so far proved that the off-season has not changed too significantly with the form of most horses holding true, although the margins of victory have shrunk to more bijou proportions.
There have been a few unexpected surprises, which is an indicator of the intensified competition in the growing fields and the sweeping headway being made in racing.
As predicted, the first race, the 2060m House Martin Handicap, was comfortably won by Vuvuzela Umilio by a length and three quarters. The 1800m Bob Dewar Maiden saw the overdue Cassandra giving jockey Charles Kimani his first victory of the season by a length and a half.
The 1600m Al Borak Handicap, the most populated race of the day with an octet of runners, saw the first upset of the day with the unknown quality of Sea Eagle dashing to victory, giving trainer Joe Muya his second laurel of the afternoon.
The Montgomery Bowl, despite being thinly occupied, saw some of the established heavyweights of racing line up for the 1600m cup. The favourite, Daytime Girl, was comfortably outrun by Scott, ridden by Kimani, by five lengths.
The UltraSharp Trophy had Bampton effortlessly put five lengths between himself and the much favoured Coffee Break, giving jockey Kimani his third victory in as many hours.
The final race, The Alfa Romeo Trophy, a 1000m sprint saw the magic of trainer Tony Kuria and jockey Michael Fundi produce yet another win, with an overpowering victory from High Legislation owned by Mr O Bakor.
The space between the races was populated by Nairobi’s sumptuous and most desired pop-up market with 254 Brewing, Geco Tribe, Maurizio’s, Fabio’s Pizza, and Lekker, amongst others, all keeping the faithful quenched and satiated, whilst the DJ, acrobats, and other entertainment mesmerised the crowd.
The celebrations and revelry continued well after the last sprint had been run, with a picture-perfect sunset and rainbow capping off another burgeoning race day.
Not even a warm summer late afternoon sprinkle of rain could dampen the disposition of the racing faithful who danced long into the night.