AQUARIUS STAKES

26th January 2000 - George Bray

The Sport of Kings came to Sunnyside on a cold and blustery January night.

The racecourse was in immaculate condition, the water jump unfrozen and the Clerk of the Course was resplendent in his AQSC cap having borrowed the fluffy dice from the back of his Escort for the evening. The Tote ( 50p a go ) was in the capable hands of Ian, Majorie and Andrea and the food by Madeline, Linda and Diane was well up to Silver Ring standards.

The nags were in the starting stalls and ready for the off.

At this point, the proceedings departed slightly from Jockey Club rules. There were attempts to nobble the runners and confuse the umpire. We had dope tests, late substitutions of horses, changes of the rules in mid race and course hazards quite unknown at Ascot or Aintree.

In one race the horses raced backwards whilst in another 4 out of 6 competitors were in the water at the same time ( typical of Aquarius? ).

Despite the mayhem, Honest Ian serviced the punters well with generous odds - the winners gathering at the bar to celebrate and the losers to commiserate - the food was great and in all it was a smashing evening.

Me?, I’ve caught the racing bug - I’m off to Sandown to get my shirt back!