Derryhassen Paddy (left) edges a thriller

Berkshire Winter Million: What we learned

By Graham Clark

Horse Racing

Fri January 17, 2025 · 2M ago

Switching any meeting from one track to another often garners mixed opinions, but everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet as Windsor played host to the opening day of the Berkshire Winter Million festival on Friday.

There was an air of excitement as jump racing returned to the track for the first time since 1998 last month with the course, in recent years, more so associated to summer evening racing on a Monday as opposed to chasers slugging it out over three miles.

While the meeting’s former home at Lingfield Park tried hard to make it a roaring success, there was clear logic in moving the event to Windsor, with its sounder surface capable of serving up real entertainment on conditions that didn't resemble a bog.

From the moment punters walked through the turnstiles they were greeted with a cacophony of sound as members of a rock choir greeted racegoers with a selection of well versed songs to get everyone in good spirits for the day ahead.

And it didn’t take long for the decibel levels to be raised as Derryhassen Paddy got the better of a ding-dong battle with Honky Tonk Highway much to the delight of favourite backers, and trainer Lucinda Russell.

While Russell is no stranger to travelling her runners far and wide from her base up in Kinross the Grand National-winning handler will now be earmarking the fixture in her calendar such was the thumbs-up she awarded it.

Russell said: "I think this is going to be a great meeting if we can make this a bit of an aim for people as it brings horses on. It is a very interesting track in the way it swings and turns and stuff. I’m pleased we came here as it sets this horse up for another pre-Cheltenham run.

“They should market it as another experience before Cheltenham as they all need experience before going there and this is a great place to get some."

Warren Greatrex is one of a whole host of trainers that have joined the mass training ranks since the track raced in its previous guise back in the 1990s. And while short and sweet in his appraisal of jump racing returning to the course, and on the Berkshire Winter Million event moving homes, he was very much in support of the move by owners Arena Racing Company (ARC).

Greatrex said: “This is my first winner here. I rode around here, badly. I can’t remember the result, but knowing me I pulled up!

“We need to support this meeting as it is a great initiative around a nice track. It suits me as I’m just up the road!"

Herakles Westwood and jockey James Bowen win for Warren Greatrex

Like Greatrex, leading owner, Bryan Drew is someone whose previous memories at the track had, until the victory of Panic Attack, not been the greatest.

But for a man who has seen his distinctive orange and blue silks carried to glory at many of the biggest tracks, he believes the meeting could really thrive and one day become a serious rival to the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) at Leopardstown.

Drew said: “I had one runner on the flat at Windsor many years ago with a mare in a five-furlong handicap. She went up the backside of another from the gate and the race was over, which was part of a brief stint on the flat.

“I think moving this meeting from Lingfield was a positive move as I always thought the Lingfield track, with the ground, was so bad. It was a bit of a slog and it wasn’t much of a showcase for jump racing, whereas this is a chance to have another real festival in the winter.

“This is a million pounds over three days, whereas the Dublin Racing Festival is a million pounds a day. It has a little way to go to match that, but it is a step in the right direction.”

With an entertaining day one all done and dusted, action will move back to more familiar surroundings of Ascot on Saturday before Windsor rounds out day three on Sunday.

And if the performances on day one are anything to go by then those in attendance could be in for another treat at a meeting which now appears to have found its rightful home.

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