News - Race Afternoon in Sunny Folkestone

On Saturday the 17th August at 11.30 in Folkestone the skies were sunny and a gentle breeze prevailed from the South East. Unlike the previous day when the rain lashed down and the wind howled from the north. The race track had been mown and marked out and the going was said to be firm.

Race Afternoon in Sunny Folkestone

The marquees having been erected by a band of husky and enthusiastic helpers (Anthony and Jacqui Youngs, Nigel and Gail Pluckrose, Richard and Madeleine Vivers and Christine Upton) stood ready to protect the race goers from the sun which was forecast to last for the foreseeable future. Under the close scrutiny of Toni Ward their interiors and tables to accommodate up to 120 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 resplendent in a very jazzy jacket 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 skilfully relieved of money by Peter Hayler before being pointed in the direction of the bar and served a cold soft drink. That done they were very efficiently relieved of money for the raffle by Gail Pluckrose before they made their 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 marquees continued to fill with excited punters.

The District Grand Prefect, R.W. Bro Brian Ward then welcomed everyone and thanked them for 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 which was run by Keith and Julie Beavers was then opened for the first race of the day sponsored by Invicta Council 54 and called “The Invictus 54”.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Crash Landing	Peter Hayler
2	Peter the Guinness	Graham Mitchell
3	Flintstone	Fred Brown
4	Dunn Well	Scott Dunn
5	Vulcan	Paddy Langdown
6	Red Devil	Clive Manuel
7	My Girls Julie	Steve Davis
8	David Hassel Hoof	Dave Leibrick

The Tote was closed and the riders were assembled and brought under starters orders. There followed a keenly contested race with Tony Maslin making a flying start on Dunn Well but retiring after failing to clear the water jump (the first of many times as it happened). Derek Wilkins on My girl Julie also failed the water jump and was forced to retire. Clive Manuel on Red Devil looked promising for a while but despite being roared on by the crowd he was out paced by Peter Hayler, (still wearing his brightly coloured jacket) who romped home on his own horse called Crash Landing. 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	Non-Starter	Peter Williams
2	Black Five	Brian Tyler
3	Far Away	Roy Skelton
4	Maslins Mount	Tony Maslin
5	Honest to God	Howard Pashley
6	A Pinch of Salt	David Waters
7	No Eye Dear	Mark Woolcott
8	Hoof Hearted	Lorna Leibrick

There seemed to be only two horses in this race for a long time as Non-Starter ridden by David Pugh and Black five ridden by Kerry romped away to lead the field. Maslins mount ridden by Tony Maslin made his second venture of the afternoon into the water closely followed by David Waters on a Pinch of Salt. Hoof Hearted (not that easy to say. Try it!) owned by Lorna Leibrick but ridden by Zarena Cornell looked to be going well for a time but was overtaken in the last section of the race by Honest to God owned by Howard Pashley (District Grand Chaplain) but ridden by Nigel Pluckrose. The after-race enquiry as to whether or not Honest to God had obtained any unfair advantage from above was dismissed as outrageous and the Tote paid out the winners.

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	Breathless	David Barden
2	Secretaries Folly	Jason Cameron-Potter
3	Thanet Mafia	Lew Finnis
4	Wise Wonder	Peter Wise
5	Nyami Nyami	Peter Lapage
6	True Britian	Derek Wilkins
7	Maggie’s Nag	Archie Torrance
8	Knackers Yard	Paul Howarth

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 Nyami Nyami (named after the River God of the Zambezi River) owned by Peter Lapage. Sadly, all the hype was for naught as Nyami Nyami slithered into the water jump to the dismay of the assembled punters. From that moment on there was only one winner Secretaries Folly owned by Jason Cameron-Potter but ridden by Margaret Manuel romped home well ahead of the remaining pack to loud cheers from Clive.

The Tote was reopened to take bets on the fourth race of the afternoon sponsored by the Hartley Council 74 and was called “The Hartley Hurdles”.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Weight Watcher	Roy Hartley
2	Sir Neighs a Lot	David Reeves
3	Top Rod	Fred Brown
4	Marks Mule	Mark Estaugh
5	Stout Fellow	Peter Laker
6	Druids Donkey	Tony Bartlett
7	Pay Attention	Jody Townsend
8	Should have gone each way	Jannie Howarth

The riders were assembled and brought under starters orders for what was seen as a very open race with many popular riders. Top Rod owned and 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, Top Rod 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. Pay Attention owned by Jody Townsend but ridden by Tony Maslin made an exit at the water jump. This was the third time Tony had failed to get over the water. After a very slow start Weight Watcher ridden by Roy Hartley galloped though the field to win the race by a head from Druids Donkey ridden by Tony Bartlett.

Whilst the last race was in progress lunch was made ready by Toni ably assisted by Jacqui Youngs and Christine Upton before requesting those 110 people attending to come and collect their ploughman’s lunches. During lunch the draw for the lucky winner of the Race Card was drawn. Before the next race got under starters orders Toni actively encouraged everyone to come up for seconds. Thankfully this challenged was accepted by many.

When the ploughman’s lunch had been consumed the Tote was reopened by Keith and Julie and the race goers were 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	Trodden on	Nigel Cash
2	Grand Tilers of Gillingham	Neville Fourie
3	No Triangles tonight	Jake Jackson
4	Tough Luck	Ian Tough
5	Directors Dilemma	Tony Lewis
6	Croquet Cheat	David Pugh
7	Deacons Dilemma	John Jerome
8	Madrich	Richard Vivers

The riders 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 No Triangles tonight ridden by Fred Brown 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. Trodden on ridden by Tony Maslin took the lead but exited the race again at the water jump. Deacons Dilemma ridden by Peter Brockbank looked very fresh despite the large lunch and should have been a contender but despite enthusiastic encouragement from the crowd was sadly never really in it. Eventually and from a very sluggish field the Grand Tilers of Gillingham owned by Neville Fourie but ridden by Howard Batho inched over the line to win. Technically this horse should never have run as it had more than 18 characters in its name. (remember that little gem of information for quiz nights).

When the winners had been paid out and before the next race got under starters orders Toni asked everyone to come and get some cake. This request was enthusiastically accepted and 9 of the 11 large cakes vanished.

The penultimate race sponsored by the Ashford Council 99 and called the "Ashford Steeple Chase" loomed and the Tote reopened to take bets on the 6th race of the afternoon. There were many popular riders and betting was frenzied.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	Slim Line	Geoff Whale
2	Sabrena	Anthony Youngs
3	Big Bri	Jim Howard
4	Young Bob	Bob Preston
5	Margarets Desire	Margaret Manuel
6	A Pint of Guinness	Steve Davis
7	Turtles	Steve Turner
8	Dancing Queen	Linda Mitchell

The riders gathered at the starting gate and came under starters orders. Flushed with the success of her previous outing Margaret Manuel, this time riding Margarets Desire was quick off the mark and took an early lead. Margaret was closely followed by Dancing Queen ridden by Linda Mitchel, last year’s winner but her challenge faltered and she became an also ran. Big Bri ridden by Sarah, Young Bob ridden by Bob Preston and Sabrena ridden by Anthony Youngs were neck and neck but never really challenged Margarets Desire. Turtles ridden by Steven Turner made an early exit at the water jump. Where else would you expect a turtle to be if not at the bar. (You will only understand this if you are a Turtle). From the back of the field and to everyone’s surprise Slim Line ridden and owned by Geoff Whale galloped past Margarets to cross the line by a whisker. The Tote paid out and set up for the last race of the day.

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

The last race of the day was sponsored by the White Cliffs of Dover Council 210 and called “The White Cliffs of Dover Chase”.

Horse No.	Horse Name	Owner/Jockey
1	On Tramp	William Pennel
2	Keith	Terry Dodd
3	Phils Filly	Phil Clare
4	I Get Around	Derek Wilkins
5	Odds and Sods	Roger Odd
6	Maverick Bulldog	Karen Dowling
7	Cyprus Sid	Perri Ahmet
8	Tantalising Toni	Toni Ward

Excitement loomed as the race goers queued at Tote to place their bets and have one last opportunity to win. Whilst a strong field of riders assembled at the starting post. All of them eager to be off and have one last chance of glory.

This could be anyone’s race but the extra intake of cake might prove to be a factor for some of the riders. Tantalising Toni took an early lead but sadly as the race progressed, she faded probably due to the fact she had been on her feet since 6am. Derek Wilkins on I Get Around looked promising for a while but the water jump ended his hopes of glory. However, he was not alone for long as he was kept company in the water by Cyprus Sid being ridden by Fred Brown. Maverick Bulldog owned by Karen Dowling and ridden by Wendy Bartlett and Phills Filly owned by Phile Clare and ridden by Geoff Whale broke free of the pack for a very close race with Maverick Bulldog inching past to win.

All bets were paid out by the tote and calm was eventually restored within the marquees as the race goers resumed their seats in eager anticipation of the raffle and presentation of winners. Each winner received a trophy, chocolates and medal, a certificate of achievement and an Allied pen (shades of Crackerjack!) from the District Grand Prefect and were 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 just over £2,080.

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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