CHARITY RACES HELP CHARITIES

21-06-2004

The weather was kind to us at firstly Newbury on Thursday 10th June and then Doncaster three days later, when the final race of each card was the charity race. As in previous years, the AJA were responsible for helping to organise these charity races.

Thursday’s race saw Catherine Dettori take the spoils on board Barney Curley trained Cristoford in Catherine’s first ever ride on the racecourse, cheered on by husband Frankie. Joining Catherine in raising money for Spinal Injuries, Spinal Research and Retraining of Racehorses were David Arbuthnot, Gerry Chesneaux, Maxine Cowdrey, Robin Gray, Georgina Hammond, Ian Lawrence, Leon Nurse, Jamie Osborne, Mark Thurgood, Peter Wegmann and Jo Winter.

3 days later, Jamie Osborne and Peter Wegmann gamely donned their racing silks again to raise yet more money, this time in aid of not only Spinal Injuries but also Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice and the Rehabilitation of Racehorses at Doncaster. They were joined by Mark Buckley, Scott Dixon, Ann Duffield, Jayne Gollings, Vicki Hall, Mark Lowry, Derek Shaw, Stephen Swiers and John Wainwright. It was a very tight finish with Scott taking 3rd place behind Jayne, with Stephen Swiers taking the honours.

Final figures are yet to be calculated for both days, but it is hoped that we will have raised over £150,000 overall for very worthwhile charities. Many thanks to all those who helped to make these days possible.