On Saturday the 2nd September at 11.30 in Folkestone the skies were sunny and a gentle breeze prevailed from the South East. The race track had been mown and marked out and the going was said to be good but firm. The marquees having been erected by a band of husky and enthusiastic helpers stood ready to protect the race goers from the sun or for goodness sake not showers.

Under the close scrutiny of Toni Ward their interiors and tables to accommodate up to eighty people sitting were decorated in Allied colours. The 'Tote' manned by Keith and Julie Beavers stood ready to take all bets. The bar was maned by David Barden and all set to dispense chilled soft drinks during the afternoon. The hobby horses all sporting their racing colours waited at the track side along with hats and numbers for the jockeys. Peter Hayler stood ready to sell race cards to anyone who made eye contact with him. We were set to go. All we needed were race goers.

At 12 noon on the dot the first of the race goers arrived and were quickly and skillfully relieved of money by Peter Hayler before being pointed in the direction of the bar and served a cold soft drink. That done they made there way to the marquee to settle themselves down at a table and wait for the fun to start. This process continued unabated for 45 minutes whilst the marquee continued to fill with 80 plus excited punters.

The District Grand Prefect, R.W. Bro Brian Ward then welcomed everyone and thanked them coming along to support the event and went on to explain the Wilton Road Race-track rules of the afternoon and wished everyone luck and good fortune.

The Tote was then opened for the first race of the day sponsored by Invicta Council 54 and called 'Invictus 54'.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	No eye dear	Mark Woolcott
2	Vulcan	Paddy Langdown
3	Brockbanks Beast	Peter Brockbank
4	Duke of Conault	Terry Dodds
5	Drinkers Nightmare	David Barden
6	Black Five	Brian Tyler
7	Daves Delight	David Pugh
8	Just Brian	Brian Ward

The Tote was closed and the riders were assembled and brought under starters orders. There followed a keenly contested race which resulted in Paddy Langdown, a popular winner, romping home on his own horse called Vulcan. The Tote paid out the lucky winners and losers stomped away muttering and hoping for better luck next time.

The Tote was then re-opened for bets to be placed on the second race of the afternoon which was sponsored by Canterbury Council 65 and called 'The Canterbury Chase'.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Dobbin	Sue Green
2	Fabulous Phil	Phil Clare
3	Knackers Yard	Alan Wilson-Story
4	Ships Aweigh	Ben Katumba
5	Slim Line	Peter Hayler
6	Secretaries Folly	Jason Cameron-Potter
7	Crafty Clive	Clive Manuel
8	Jubilant Jake	Jake Jackson

Despite the magnificent start made by Slim Line ridden by Peter Hayler and the herculean challenge made by Crafty Clive ridden by Clive Manuel towards the end of the race they were no match for Fabulous Phil ridden by Margaret Manuel who romped home to wild cheering by the spectators. Clearly another popular winner and a fancied favourite by the punters. The Tote had a busy time paying out the winnings.

When calm had been restored to the race track the Tote was reopened and bets were placed on the third race of the afternoon sponsored by the West Kent Council 66 and was called ‘The West Kent Gelding Stakes’.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Eusebius	David Green
2	Dunn Enough	Scott Dunn
3	Non-Performer	Ralph Apperley
4	Maggie’s Nag	Archie Torrance
5	Too much Booze	Tony Waspe
6	Sir Neighs Alot	Jason Cameron-Potter
7	Jolly Roger	Roger Odd
8	Frisky Beaver	Jake Jackson

When the riders were assembled and brought under starters orders for the third race of the afternoon there was a great deal of excitement and anticipation in evidence. The clear favourite of the race was Jolly Roger ridden by Roger Odd but despite much encouragement and chants of “Are you ready Roger“ and an equally loud replies of “Yes, I’m ready” Jolly Roger was never really in the running. Maggie’s Nag ridden by Archie Torrance showed a lot of promise before ending up in the water and was sadly disqualified. After a great deal of jockeying for position a clear winner emerged and Sir Neighs Alot owned by Jason Cameron-Potter, ridden by guest jockey Gail Pluckrose crossed the line a clear length ahead of its nearest rival. The Tote paid out the winners.

Before the Tote reopened for the fourth race Keith and Julie Beavers (Tote operators for the afternoon) were witnessed having a sneaky Guinness and white wine respectively. When questioned about this it was deemed to be for hydration purposes rather than enjoyment. This satisfied the stewards enquiry and the Tote was reopened to take bets on the fourth race of the afternoon sponsored by the Hartley Council 74 and was called ‘The Sidcup Furlong’.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Operative Mason	David Green
2	Marvellous Mark	Mark Estaugh
3	Duchess of Dover	Fred Brown
4	Champaigne Charlie	Ray Johnson
5	Skint again	Duncan Griffiths
6	Directors Dilemma	Mike Plant
7	Itchy Ivor	Ivor Spencer
8	Tantalising Toni	Jake Jackson

The ridders were assembled and brought under starters orders for what was seen as a very open race with many popular ridders. The Duchess of Dover ridden by Fred Brown was out of the starting gate like a “shot out of gun” leaving the rest of the field way behind. Despite cheers and encouragement, the Duchess of Dover ended its afternoon at the water jump. Many chants of “Good bye Fred” where heard around the track clearly made by those who hadn’t backed him. Itchy Ivor owned by Ivor Spencer but ridden but by Archie Torrance led the field for a short time but clearly Archie had learnt nothing from his last outing as he ended his race at the water jump again. With two of the clear favourites gone Directors Dilemma owned by Mike Plant but ridden by Jody Townsend the District Grand Director of Ceremonies controlled the rest of the race and romped home to much applause especially by those who had backed him to win. The Tote paid out the winners and more Guinness and white wine was seen to be in evidence. It was a very hot afternoon.

Whilst the last race was in progress lunch was made ready by Toni assisted by Jacqui Youngs and Christine Upton. Archie having been dispatched at the water jump twice during the afternoon was doing penance in the kitchen drying dishes. Eight four people were then invited to collect their ploughman’s lunches which was followed by a selection of homemade cakes. During this break raffle tickets were sold by Mark Woolcott.

When lunch had been consumed the Tote was reopened by Keith and Julie and the race goers invited to place their bets on the fifth race of the afternoon which was sponsored by the Paddock Wood Council 88 and was called the 'Hop-Pickers Stakes'.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Happy Hughs	Russel Hughs
2	Pilgrims Choice	Roger O’Brien
3	Watling Street	Derek Wilkins
4	My Retirement	Ray Johnson
5	Friers Fancy	Bob Gaywood
6	Magical Master	Mark Kirkby
7	Deputy Dawg	Geoff Whale
8	Madrich	Richard Vivers

The ridders gathered at the starting gate and came under starters orders. In truth and probably due to the heavy lunch the riders looked a little sluggish in the afternoon sun. However, the dice was thrown and Pilgrims Choice ridden by Roger O’Brien made a promising start but the extra slab of cheese on the ploughman’s lunch was clearly having an adverse effect and he soon tired and fell back. Watling Street ridden by Derek Wilkins took the lead but exited the race at the water jump. Deputy Dawg ridden by Geoff Whale could have been a contender but despite enthusiastic encouragement from the crowd was sadly never really in it. Eventually and from a very sluggish field Friers Fancy owned by Bob Gaywood but ridden by Sarah Pegler strolled over the line. This winner saw the biggest pay out per ticket of the afternoon.

An offer to come and have some more cake (actually more of a plea!!) was made to all by Brian. This is was done in an attempt to remove temptation and try to nullify his ever-expanding waistline. I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all of those who took up the challenge and either ate the cake or took it home. Thank you.

The penultimate race loomed and the Tote reopened to take bet of the 6th race of the afternoon sponsored by the Ashford Council 99 and called the ‘Ashford Amble’.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Wishful Thinking	Ray Johnson
2	Lucky	Michael Knowles
3	Kitty	Lew Finnis
4	Constantine	David Green
5	Quick Descent	David Jordan
6	Marvellous Margaret	Margaret Manuel
7	Just Jake	Jake Jackson
8	Sabrena	Jacqui Youngs

In anticipation of another large pay out by the Tote the ridders gathered at the starting gate and came under starters orders. Flushed with the success of her previous outing Margaret Manuel this time riding Marvellous Margaret was off and took an early lead. There then followed a closely contested race with Quick Descent owned by David Jordan but ridden by Bob Tuthill. Whilst striding neck and neck towards the finish line they hurdled the water jump safely and it could have been anyone’s race but Bob with a good use of the whip inched past Marvellous Margaret to win by a nose. Despite being a Surrey Mason and Deputy District Grand Prefect for Surrey Bob proved to be a popular winner. The Tote paid out and set up for the last race of the day but not before Keith and Julie were witnessed sneaking another cooling Guiness and wine to keep refreshed, mellow and hydrated.

The last race of the day was sponsored by the White Cliffs of Dover Council 210 and called ‘The Port of Dover Handicap’. Excitement loomed as the race goers queued at Tote to place their bets and have one last opportunity to win.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Pharos	Roger O’Brien
2	Lame	Jody Townsend
3	Woeful Wise	Peter Wise
4	Honest to God	Howard Pashley
5	Peter the Guiness	Graham Mitchel
6	Dangerous Davis	Steve Davis
7	Fabulous Fiona	Jake Jackson
8	Dancing Queen	Linda Mitchel

A strong field lined up and came up under starters orders. This could be anyone’s race but in truth Pharos ridden by Roger O’Brien still looked a little laden down with the extra portion of cheese taken on at the interval or perhaps even the extra slab of cake. However, you never know, nothing is a certain in racing. There was an early enquiry as to whether or not Honest to God owned by Howard Pashley our District Grand Chaplin was obtaining any unfair advantage. This was dismissed as outrageous and the race began. Dancing Queen ridden by Linda Michell (The District Grand Prefect's sister) made an appalling start and seemed content to inspect every square inch of the race track rather than move forward. This, despite ABBA’s Dancing Queen being played at full blast by Derek Wilkins on his phone as an encouragement to get a move on (I suspect Derek might have bet on this horse). The water jump was responsible for taking out more than half of the ridders giving Dancing Queen time to catch up and eventually gallop over the finish line. The finish was accompanied by another blast of Dancing Queen by ABBA played by Derek who was now smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Calm was eventually restored within the marquee and the race goers resumed their seats awaiting the presentation of certificates and chocolates to the winners by the District Grand Prefect. Each winner was enthusiastically applauded and cheered. When the raffle had been drawn the District Grand Prefect took the opportunity to thank all those who had helped organise the event and make the day possible. He especially thanked his wife Toni who had decorated the Marquees, prepared the lunches, baked the cakes and basically told him what to do next and when. He then thanked everyone for coming along to support the event and for their generosity and was immensely proud to announce that the event had raised in excess of £1,600.

Finally, he wished everyone a safe journey home and looked forward to welcoming them back again next year for another social event.

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