As the days get longer and the spring begins to come to an end, it also leads to a busy time in the world of horse racing. The British National Hunt season may have just concluded, but the focus quickly shifts to the high quality Punchestown Festival in Ireland with a five day marathon of action. On the flat, it would be all eyes towards Newmarket as the first Classics of the year - the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas take place at "HQ". Those races would be sharply proceeded by big meetings at Chester and York. 
With plenty of big names on display throughout the week, a low key midweek meeting at Southwell would go under the radar of many racing fans. There may not be any star names on show at the Nottinghamshire venue, but the unsung heroes of the track would strut their stuff on the all-weather. The action would mainly consist of class six events, but there would be healthy field sizes on show and a high level of competitiveness here.

Race One: The Celebrate With Sponsorship At Southwell Racecourse Handicap - Class Six - Seven Furlongs - Runners: 12

Opening the card would be this seven furlong, class six event which saw a maximum field size take to the stage. Success in last year's running saw the grey Saisons d'Or take advantage of a handy inside draw and to land an all-the-way success for the Jedd O'Keeffe stable.
This year's renewal would have the look of a competitive one as a number of in form horses took to the start. Heading the weights would be the recently improved Hint Of The Jungle, from the Mike Murphy yard. The five year old has been in good form since the turn of the year, winning a similar race here in Feburary and didn't run badly at Kempton earlier this month. Another consistent five year old would be the mare Fistral Beach. John Mackie's runner has been a regular on the all-weather and raced almost exclusively over seven furlongs. After two wins within a month at Wolverhampton, she would take second at the same venue on her latest start. Last year's winner Saisons d'Or returned once again for the Jedd O'Keeffe stable, but faced a trickier draw this time around. The eleven year old is closing in on his 100th race start, but showed a little more life on his latest start here earlier in the month. One of the younger runners in the line up would be Dolly's Delight, who made the journey from Thirsk for trainer Ivan Furtado. The four year old filly landed her only win to date during the summer last year, but has run only modestly over six furlongs in two starts for her current stable. Another former course winner would be John Butler's Split Elevens. The eight year old also has plenty of experience to rely on, despite going winless for over a year now. He would finish in the placings in his last visit to Southwell and has made decent late headway in his last few starts. English Lady would be another four year old filly in the line up as she represented the Dean Ivory stable. She has been campaigned over seven furlongs and a mile in recent times and caught the eye when third over course and distance last time. Young jockey Myla Coppins continues to catch the eye on the all-weather with her talents and would reunite with the Tony Carroll-trained River Wharfe. The pair were successful in a similar contest here last month, but the eight year old has run below his best since then. Ruth Carr's King Sharja comes from a brilliant family with decades of history, but hasn't lived up to the same heights as his ancestors. The six year old was a winner here almost exactly a year ago and ran well once again on his last run, which came back in October. Another Yorkshire stable with an interest here would be Bryan Smart with Reenie's Dream. The four year old remains a maiden, but has a couple of good placed efforts on turf last year and returned to a bit of form here last time out. Ivan Furtado would have a second runner here in the form of Kamekist. After a promising start to his career, the four year old's form tailed off during last season but he did show a slight glimmer of ability when third here two starts ago. Murty McGrath is one of the lesser known names of the list of trainers and saddled the gelding Ballybaymoonshiner. The eight year old has won four times on the all-weather during his career and this would be his first start since December last year. A second runner for the Ruth Carr team would be Brother Dave, another regular at this sort of level. The six year old has been in good form since a mini break, winning over course and distance in January and holding his form well in subsequent races. 

Winner: 

Race Two: The Wright Vigar Handicap - Class Six - Five Furlongs - Runners: 9
Next up would be the turn of the sprinters as this class six contest took place over the minimal trip. The course at Southwell is officially measured as four and three-quarter furlongs, which means the action is over in a flash. Twelve months ago, the race would go the way of Arlington, who confirmed his liking for this course with a rapid victory for the Bryan Smart team.

This year's contest would see the aforementioned Arlington carry top weight in his defence of his crown. The five year old is a quick horse when on song and has added two more wins over course and distance by making all since last year. He ran poorly recently, although that race came after a small break. Next would come Invitorio from the Ruth Carr stable. The four year old broke a lengthy losing streak by winning here on his latest start and looks to be back to somewhere near his best at the moment. The five year old Stash The Cash has picked up plenty of experience over the last few seasons and lined up for the Martin Dunne stable. He responded well to new headgear when a close second to Arlington here in January, but has produced modest efforts in both starts since. The partnership stable of Peter Charalambous and James Clutterbuck would be represented by Man On A Mission, another well travelled sort. The seven year old has a hit and miss look to his form, but ran very well when a close second over course and distance just a few days ago. Mike Murphy's Nad Alshiba Snow remains a maiden, despite some good efforts in the past, but has frustrated his connections recently with finishes just outside the podium. The four year old filly got going too late when fourth again at Wolverhampton last time and now tries a straight course here. Liam Bailey's horses are often regularly spotted in this sort of race and he would saddled Beneficiary here. The seven year old posted a trio of second places earlier this year, but ran badly on the turf at Catterick on his latest start. Marcus is another horse looking for his first career win and Charlie Wallis's five year old has been finishing in the minor placings of late. He weakened into sixth at Chelmsford last time, albeit over a rare try over six furlongs. The Carligation would make her belated return to the track in this contest. John Jenkins's five year old mare has shown limited ability so far and was last seen on the track in May 2024. Completing the line up would be Fumbleinthejungle for the John Riches stable. The lowly rated six year old has yet to get near the winner in each of his starts, so would be another with a mountain to climb here.

Winner:

Race Three: The Book With Bistro In Sherwood Restaurant Fillies' Novice Stakes - Class Three - Five Furlongs - Runners: 9

The highest class of race of the whole meeting would come in the form of this novice event over five furlongs. Limited to fillies aged three years old and older, the race takes place over the flying five furlongs and was won last year by the Ollie Sangster-trained Lokma, who was fairly dominant on the day.

The lineup in this contest looked to be a strong one by Southwell's usual standards, which led to a fascinating race in store. The first of the previous winners to head the card would be Mick and David Easterby's Shes Got A Brother. The daughter of Havana Grey comes from a very talented family with plenty of stamina, but showed plenty of speed to make all and win over course and distance a few weeks ago. She would face an interesting previous winner in the form of Society Kiss, who made her debut for the John Mackie stable. The A'Ali filly won very nicely last year for the Andrew Balding yard last season and was well fancied at Royal Ascot, where she didn't run badly. She has the chance to be an exciting horse for her new connections this year. 

Race Four: The Come Racing For Free 18th June Handicap - Class Six - One Mile, Four Furlongs - Runners: 10

Race Five: The Conference & Events At Southwell Racecourse Handicap - Class Six - Two Miles - Runners: 11

Race Six: The Ladies Day Sunday 16th August Handicap - Class Six - Six Furlongs - Runners: 10