Legendary Welsh trainer Dai Burchell was honoured by Chepstow Racecourse on Thursday when they ran the Happy Retirement Dai Burchell Novices Hurdle. The fifth race of the day was titled after 84-year-old Burchell, in recognition of his decision to retire in February by which time he will have turned 85. Chepstow-born Burchell, whose trainer’s yard is near Ebbw Vale, plans to bring down the curtain on an extraordinary career in the sport.

Sam Thomas has admitted keeping the Coral Welsh Grand National title in Wales left him speechless with emotion. The Welsh trainer enjoyed a landmark win at Chepstow on Monday as his horse, I willdoit, came home first to ensure a Welsh-trained horse has won the showpiece race for three successive years. The victory is Thomas’s biggest career success as a trainer, his first graded victory, and the Vale of Glamorgan-based handler follows Christian Williams (Potters Corner, 2019) and Evan Williams (Secret Reprieve, 2020) as Welsh winners of the race.

The Welsh Grand National will be the only event still standing after a combination of Covid and new restrictions wiped out professional sport in Wales over the festive period. The Chepstow race meeting – Welsh racing’s showpiece event of the year – will go ahead on Monday, but behind closed doors following limits set by the Welsh Government. The fact it is happening with no spectators has more to do with TV contracts and sponsorship deals, rather than any enthusiasm for the country’s biggest racing event – a social event as much as a sporting one – to take place in front of empty stands.

Up to 12,000 race-goers will be denied their chance to “blow away the cobwebs” at the Welsh Grand National following the decision to take the race behind closed doors. The biggest day in the Welsh racing calendar will take place in front of empty stands at Chepstow on December 27, following the move to remove fans from sporting events across Wales from Boxing Day. Organisers of the showpiece event are likely to seek compensation of around £200,000 from the Welsh Government, but Chepstow executive director Phil Bell believes it is the social impact that will hit many regular racing fans hard.

Welsh National hopeful Truckers Lodge will appear at Chepstow this weekend in preparation for the big race in the calendar at the same venue at the end of the month. The Paul Nicholls-trained horse heads to Chepstow on Saturday for the Welsh Grand National Trial, live on Sky Sports Racing at 1.22pm. Truckers Lodge was second in the Welsh National in 2019 before going on to win the Midlands National last year,

Georgia Wilson has vowed to gain more inspiration from Lee Pearson after she became the first Welsh medal winner at the Tokyo Paralympics. The Abergele equestrian rider took bronze in the dressage grade 11 individual test, while her GB teammate Pearson took a 12th Paralympic gold medal of his illustrious career. Wilson – riding Sakura – finished in an impressive third on her Games debut with 72.765 per cent, just two weeks after a late call-up to the squad to replace Sophie Christiansen.

Wales’ Georgia Wilson is dreaming of winning a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games after receiving a late call-up into the Great Britain team. The 25-year-old has replaced eight-time Paralympic dressage champion Sophie Christiansen, who had to withdraw when her ride, Innuendo III, suffered a veterinary issue. “It’s all happened so quickly but I’m really excited to go to the Paras,” said Wilson, who had her sights set more on Paris 2024.

Wales rugby star Jonathan Davies was a winner, while Evan Williams landed a double at the Welsh Horse Racing Awards, arranged by Chepstow, Ffos Las and Bangor Racecourses . Davies and All Stars Sports Racing won the National Hunt Owners’ award as owners of Coral Welsh Grand National winner Potters Corner – the first winner of the race owned and trained in Wales since 1965. Williams was named National Hunt Trainer of the Year for 2020, while stable jockey Adam Wedge was chosen as Jump Jockey of the Year, having won the first two Grade 1 races of his career, including the Stayers’ Hurdle on Lisnagar Oscar.

Wales’ Georgia Wilson is celebrating after winning silver for Great Britain in her first senior championships at the European Para-dressage Championships in Rotterdam. The 23-year-old from Wrexham, riding Midnight, finished second behind multi-Paralympian Pepo Puch from Austria, on Sailor’s Blue. Wilson’s score of 73.47% secured Britain’s first medal of the championships before she paid tribute to her trainer Sophie Wells.

James Broome will go head-to-head with his Great Britain teammates this weekend, when the Welsh carriage-driver competes at the Tristar Welsh National event at Cricklands. Two weeks ago, Broome – son of show jumping legend David – was part of the GB team that won a bronze medal at the Nations Cup in Holland. On Saturday and Sunday, he will be in opposition to colleagues Daniel Naprous and Wilf Bowman-Ripley at an event in Crick that counts as both a qualifier for the UK National Championships as well as a selection event for the British team.

A huge crowd turned up at Lower Machen, near Rudry, for the Tredegar Farmers Hunt Point-To-Point Steeplechases last Saturday and they were treated to an afternoon’s exciting sport. In the opening restricted race, the legendary national champion William Biddick, on Nigel Lilley’s French-bred eight-year-old mare Silver Louna, got home by a neck from the James King partnered Airpur Desbois the only other French-bred horse in the seven runner field.

Vale  of Glamorgan trainer Tim Vaughan  had a double at Ludlow with AllTimeGold  and Jefferson Davis (writes Brian Lee). The former,  partnered by stable jockey Alan Johns, landed the two-mile handicap chase, while Jefferson Davis, ridden by champion jockey Richard Johnson, won the three-mile handicap chase. A nice win here for Jefferson Davis under champion jockey @dickyjohnson77 […]

Teenager Jack Tudor landed a double at Sunday’s Melton Hunt Club Point-To-Point at Garthorpe and both were trained by his father Jonathan Tudor who is also having a cracking season. The 17-year-old Jac, from Merthyr Mawr, rode a winner at the Gelligaer Farmers fixture on Saturday and followed that with his two-timer. He won the club […]

Vale of Glamorgan’s Isabel Williams chalked-up her fifth point-to-point winner of the season at the well attended Gelligaer Farmers Hunt Steeplechases.  Isabel, the 21-year-old daughter of leading Welsh National Hunt trainer Evan Williams, has high hopes now of retaining her Welsh Lady Riders Championship title. In a thrilling finish to the young horse maiden race four of the nine runners […]

Llancarfan’s Evan Williams and Bridgend’s John Flint saddled winners at Wincanton and Worcester (writes Brian Lee). Williams saw his four-year-old Annsam land the maiden hurdle at Wincanton and dual purpose trainer John Flint took the handicap chase at Worcester with his nine-year-old Cillian’s Well. Annsam, partnered by stable jockey Adam Wedge and a 5-1 chance, won by […]

Veteran rider Byron Moorcroft of Cowbridge seems to be riding better than ever, writes Brian Lee. He chalked up the 24th winner this season at the well attended Banwen Point-To-Point Club Steeplechases.. Moorcroft was riding Jason Warner’s five-year-old chestnut gelding French Piece, which scored by three lengths from Gowell after making most of the running. […]

Merthyr Mawr teenager Jack Tudor is making a bold bid to land the Fuller’s sponsored national novice riders’ championship. Tudor, aged 16, earned a treble at the Tivyside Hunt Point-to-Point Steeplechases at Lydstep in Pembrokeshire to take his tally so far to 13. Huw Edwards and Liam Harrison are Tudor’s closest challengers for the title won by […]

David Brace OBE and 16-year-old jockey Jack Tudor were back in the winners’ enclosure at Berkeley Hunt’s Point-To-Point Steeplechases (writes Brian Lee). Less than 24 hours after landing the Dunraven Bowl Novices Hunter Chase at Chepstow Racecourse with Pink Eyed Pedro, Brace and Tudor were winners again after Tudor riding Brace’s 12-year-old bay gelding William […]

Pink Eyed Pedro, owned, trained and bred by David Brace of the Dunraven Stud at Pyle, near Bridgend, ran out an easy 11-lengths winner of the Dunraven Bowl Novices’ Hunter Chase at Chepstow (writes Brian Lee). The eight-year-old bay gelding gave sponsor Brace his first success in the race since it was first staged in […]

  Welsh jockey Connor Brace had two rides at far flung Perth in Scotland for his guvnor, Cotswold trainer Fergal O’Brien, and won on both (writes Brian Lee). The former national novice champion point-to-point rider won the Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle on six-year-old Carolls Milan, who was completing a three-timer and then took the closing Novices […]