FOREST of Dean trainer John O’Shea has a great record at Chepstow saddling plenty of winners, mainly during the summer flat season.

But last Saturday he cast the net slightly further afield when he ran one of his stable stars, Major Valentine, in the Ayr Silver Cup – a race worth £60,000 in prize money. His regular jockey Kate Leahy was in the saddle.

The seven-year-old has won four races at Chepstow this year but on Saturday the tougher task was above him and he finished halfway down the field, but no doubt gave his local connections a fun day out north of the border.

Kate is one of many female jockeys making great strides in the sport at the moment and the gelding’s owner Pete Smith owns a car sales business in Coleford as well as sponsoring the Parade Ring at Chepstow. I’m sure they had a fantastic experience.

The flat season at Chepstow finished last week and another promising rider, Rossa Ryan, was rewarded with the jockey of the season award after riding fourteen winners from 60 rides. His career is definitely on an upward curve. Keep an eye on him in the future.

Among the trainers, Mick Channon’s total of six winners left him one ahead of Ron Harris and David Evans. It seems a long time ago that Mr Channon was marking his goal scoring exploits for Southampton and England with his traditional ‘windmill’ celebration. He’s certainly made a huge success of his ‘second’ career.

The racecourse team are now turning their heads to winter jump racing as well as the Christmas Party season. It seems like summer has gone in a flash!

One new event we have organised is the Unibet Jump Season Preview Evening on Tuesday, 8th October with eleven-times champion trainer Paul Nicholls joining champion jockey Richard Johnson looking ahead at the big races this winter. The evening will be hosted by racing journalist Jonathan Powell. Tickets are £15 and include a meal.

A regular event that has grown in popularity is The Stampede fun obstacle run, which often takes place in the mud. This year’s date is Saturday, 26th October.

There are 5k and 10k distances across the centre of the racecourse and Piercefield Park and it’s an ideal event for people of all ages. There is also a ‘mini stampede’ over one mile which is open to children aged five or older. If you would like further information, please call Charlotte Caple on 01291 622260 or e-mail ccaple@chepstow-racecourse.co.uk

Finally, I know many Free Press readers are fans of the local folk/rock band Rusty Shackle. We have booked them to play after racing on Saturday, 12th October – they will be on stage around 5.45pm. Tickets, including the racing, start from £20.