Princess Anne and Grand National winner Corach Rambler help Kelso racecourse mark historic milestone
Last updated 17th Apr 2023
It's exactly 200 years and one day since the first horse-race was held at the Berrymoss track in Kelso.
And, to celebrate the milestone, Princess Anne will unveil a stone plaque in the winner's enclosure before racing gets underway this afternoon (Monday).
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, will be joined at the track by Grand National-winning horse Corach Rambler, who will be paraded before the first race at 1.40pm, following his heroics at Aintree on Saturday.
Kelso racecourse's managing director Jonathan Garratt said: “We are doubly honoured, on a very special day for Kelso, to be welcoming both HRH the Princess Royal and Corach Rambler. We are incredibly proud of our racing heritage and our place in the local community.
"Although there was plenty of horseracing in the Scottish Borders prior to 1823, the track on the Berrymoss at Kelso became the first purpose-built racecourse in Scotland, together with the first permanent grandstand.”
The original grandstand, which is still in use today, was commissioned by the fifth Duke of Roxburghe and designed by the renowned Yorkshire-based architect John Carr.
The Buccleuch Cup Raceday falls exactly 200 years and one day after the inaugural fixture staged on the Berrymoss on April 16th, 1823.
Princess Anne - who is known for her love of horses and an equestrian career which saw her compete in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games - will also present a trophy to the winning connections of the Berrymoss Bicentenary Handicap Hurdle (2.15pm) and the King's Own Scottish Borderers Handicap Chase (2.45pm).
Corach Rambler is the second horse to win the Grand National for Lucinda Russell since One For Arthur won in 2017. And they were given a rapturous welcome when they returned home to Arlary House Stables, by Kinross, yesterday.
Winning jockey Derek Fox - who rode both horses - will join them at Kelso for the eight-race fixture.
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Also featuring on the card is another Grand National winner, Borders-based jockey Ryan Mania, who was the first Scot to win the race in 117 years when he made his debut in the race in 2013.
His horse, Hill Sixteen, suffered a fatal fall at the first fence at the weekend - with Duns-based trainer, Sandy Thomson, blaming animal rights protesters, who delayed the race, for getting him "absolutely hyper".
"He's jumped round here twice and never had a bother," he said. "I don't know when he last fell. I know how ignorant these people are and they haven't a bloody clue. They just cause more problems than they ever solve."
Hill Sixteen had completed on both runs over the National fences previously, including when second in the 2021 Becher Chase.
Speaking ahead of his return to Kelso, Mania told Greatest Hits Radio: "We are all truly devastated. Hill Sixteen was such a gentleman and the whole yard loved him so much.
"When you have good horses running in big races, you naturally become even more attached to them and it's a huge team effort to even get a horse to a race like the Grand National.
"This loss will be felt for a long time. Personally, I feel emotionally deflated after the hype of going in to the race, and then given the worst possible outcome."
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