Callum Shepherd was in flying form as Racing League got underway © Photo Healy Racing
The in-form Callum Shepherd was the star on the opening night of the Racing League as the East made the most of home advantage at Yarmouth.
A region that encompasses racing’s heartland of Newmarket has struggled to make its mark in previous editions of the seven-team competition but galvanised by new manager and TV personality Chris Hughes, they fired in a treble on the east coast to lay down a marker and take an early 10-point lead in the competition.
It was Shepherd and the Ed Dunlop-trained Walter Hartright (11-2) who got the new Racing League campaign off with a bang, making all to take the £50,000 Guaranteed Tote Placepot Racing League Race 1 Handicap with a degree of ease.
Dunlop, who along with Charlie Fellowes is assisting Hughes with management of the East team, was thrilled to see the three-year-old notch up a four-timer, crediting Shepherd for his ride.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “Callum is riding fantastic, they went incredibly slowly and we were in the right place. He’s an improving horse and it was a great ride.
“He was frustrating to start with, hence we put the headgear on and it has transformed him. To be fair, the races before today were not the highest quality but he’s improving and I think we will step him up in class again.”
Shepherd was in the winner’s enclosure again after the Bet £5 Get £20 At tote.co.uk Racing League Race 3 Handicap as Royal Velvet (8-1) followed up her course-and-distance success earlier this month to bolster the East’s points tally.
It was somewhat a stroke of good fortune that saw William Knight’s filly face the starter, with Hughes explaining his management team were struggling to decide on their representatives for the one-mile contest.
He said: “We had four we could have run in that race and genuinely between me, Charlie (Fellowes) and Ed (Dunlop), we couldn’t pick any of them, so we picked two out of a top hat.
“We thought that was the fairest way to do it, as they all had claims as to why they should run and thankfully we picked out the winner.”
Defending champions Ireland finished the evening in second position, with their sole victory on the card coming in the Follow @toteracing On X Racing League Race 5 Handicap, where George Boughey’s Thunder Moor (11-1) showed great tenacity to see off the challenge of treble-seeking Shepherd aboard Moulin Booj.
A part of the Irish team’s title-winning treble on the final night at Southwell last year, it was fitting a Racing League regular secured Kevin Blake’s squad their first victory of the new competition.
“He’s a cool horse and he was a bit of a legend out in Bahrain during the winter,” said Boughey.
“It didn’t surprise me he ran a big race and he was so tough to get back up. He loves it here and a flat five furlongs is right up his street.
“Everyone complains about prize-money, me as much as anyone, but there’s great prize-money on offer and it’s a great incentive and long may it continue – we’ll keep supporting it as well as we can.”
It is not the Racing League without Saffie Osborne finding the scoresheet and the two-time competition leading jockey opened her account for 2024 aboard Clive Cox’s Pedro Valentino (9-4 favourite) in the Download The New tote App Racing League Race 4 Handicap.
Osborne said: “It was a really nice performance and it wasn’t plan A to be making the running. On paper, there was lots of pace but from quickly out of the stalls it wasn’t going to be the case. He pricked his ears in front and made my life very easy.
“I would probably have liked to have something to aim at and Dave (Probert) was putting pressure on me from a long way out and I probably had to press the button a bit further out than I ideally would have liked, but the further he was going the better he was getting.”
The 22-year-old appeared set to record a double aboard her father Jamie Osborne’s Wahraan in the Stream All Racing Free At tote.co.uk Racing League Race 6 Handicap, but Hayley Turner struck late on Dylan Cunha’s Expressionless (12-1) to add to the East’s opening-night riches.
The evening’s feature Weekly Rewards With tote Stayers Club Racing League Race 7 Handicap went the way of London and The South, with Jack Channon’s Rathgar landing the spoils at 25-1.
