GUERNSEY RACE CLUB officials are hoping for a British invasion when flat racing returns to the island next month. Organisers of the annual bank holiday Monday meeting have been tapping up trainers across the English Channel in a bid to attract some extra class to the proceedings.
Club vice-president Jim Jamouneau said: ‘We have sent out more than 25 invitations to private trainers in Britain, some of whom have had runners in Guernsey before, some of whom haven’t.
‘So far the feedback has been very encouraging and I’m confident that racing will be the most competitive since we brought the meeting back three years ago.’
While a number of British trainers have already agreed to bring runners over on Monday 7 May, Jamouneau says he’d like to see a dozen imports heading for the starting post.
‘If we could get 12 British-trained horses here, then I’d be over the moon,’ he added.
‘We’ve got our usual fantastic support from both Guernsey and Jersey, but a dozen British horses would make all the difference and really help in terms of raising the profile.
‘The word’s beginning to get out about L’Ancresse races and interest is growing year on year.
‘There is a super deal available through Condor which sees us reimbursing trainers for their boat travel to and from England and so I think we should get some good entries this year.
‘Surprisingly we don’t get any runners from France, but that’s another market we’ll be looking to tap up next year and beyond.’
Among those already booked to run is top British all-weather miler Over To You Bert.
The Ron Hodges-trained gelding was in winning form at Wolverhampton last week and is one of two confirmed runners for the Devon-based handler.
‘Over To You Bert won the mile race at Guernsey a couple of years ago,’ added Jamouneau, ‘and it’s great that Hodges is bringing him back, along with one of his sprinters.
‘David Evans is another top British trainer who had four runners here last year, and again we’re hopeful that he’ll be back with at least as many horses this time.
‘Other trainers who have been approached are the likes of Michael Appleby and Philip Mitchell and we’re just keeping our fingers crossed that we get some good news before entries close at noon on 19 April.’
Despite L’Ancresse’s heightened profile, Jamouneau reckons a big equine celebrity is what’s really needed to put Guernsey on the racing map.
He explained: ‘It’s hard for us to attract the cream of the sport to Guernsey, particularly on the May bank holiday when so many race meetings are taking place in Britain.
‘But if we could just get a really big star or really well known trainer running a horse at the meeting, it would help tremendously.
‘In previous years we had former jump jockey champion Jon Francome here and it’s people like that who influence others and ensure a big crowd.’
n THERE are five races on the L’Ancresse card this year, ranging from a six-furlong sprint to a mile-and-a-half contest.
Article posted on 3rd April, 2007 - 12.00am
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