Sky Sports Racing brings live coverage from Chepstow on Sunday as the Welsh Racing Festival reaches its third day, with a competitive card headlined by the DragonBet Cefnogi Rasio Ceffylau Cymreig Handicap Hurdle at 3.47.
The feature race
Service Minimum and Leader Crik are set to lock horns in the main event, a Class 2 handicap hurdle contested over 2m 7f 131y with 12 runners and £13,202 to the winner.
Leader Crik arrives with strong credentials on his first venture into handicap company. The Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies-trained gelding impressed when winning by 12 lengths in a Doncaster maiden hurdle back in February, and now steps up in distance under Sam Twiston-Davies. The Twiston-Davies team continues to operate in excellent form this season.
Service Minimum comes into the race on the back of a recent success at Newton Abbot last month. She faces a six-pound rise for that victory but appears capable of handling the extra weight as she tackles a longer trip for the first time in this contest.
Matty's Getaway represents another serious contender. The gelding finished the previous season impressively with a gutsy victory at Haydock, and a repeat of that performance would see him go very close in this competitive heat.
However, Tune In A Box ultimately won the race, with Leader Crik finishing second, meaning the Twiston-Davies runner fell just short despite his strong form.
The seniors' hurdle
The 4.22 race sees in-form Haas Boy attempt to land a hat-trick in the DragonBet Born In Wales Seniors' Handicap Hurdle. The Chester Williams-trained nine-year-old has rediscovered his best form off a lower mark, winning at Wincanton in March before following up at Ascot the same month. He returns from a summer break with obvious winning chances off this reduced hurdles mark.
Ooh Betty poses the chief danger for trainers Ben Clarke and Ben Jones. The mare enjoyed a career highlight when landing the Grade Two Warfield Mares' Hurdle at Ascot in January and subsequently ran with credit at both Cheltenham and Ayr. This represents a drop in grade and she should be very much in the mix.
Norn Iron and Gower Prince are consistent performers who merit consideration, while Glengouly could prove interesting after being switched back to hurdles.
The novices' hurdle
The opening race at 1.27 features an exciting trio in the DragonBet and EBF Mares' National Hunt Novices' Hurdle, with Princess Day, Divine Diva and Connells Cross heading the field.
Princess Day demonstrated excellent form in bumpers, winning her first two starts after landing her sole point-to-point. She was sent off at 2/1 favourite for the Aintree Grade Two in April but was beaten on the day. She did finish ahead of Divine Diva on that occasion and looks a prospect to follow over hurdles this season.
Divine Diva won a point-to-point last March and ran impressively when third in Listed company at Cheltenham in November. Her subsequent defeat at Aintree can be overlooked and she remains a useful prospect for the campaign ahead.
Connells Cross scored on two of her three bumper starts for Jennie Candlish and makes both her hurdling debut and stable debut for Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls. A tongue-tie goes on for this outing, but she could prove to be above average in this sphere.
Festival context
Cosmic Connection won the Grade Two Persian War Novices' Hurdle on the opening day of the festival, defeating Lord Byron in a quality renewal that formed part of the DragonBet Welsh Racing Festival. The meeting was reshaped after an exceptionally dry summer, with the festival set to feature 19 hurdle races and two National Hunt flat races, but no chases.
Best of the rest
The 4.57 race sees Old Coast Road bid to go 2-2 for The Skeltons, while Progressive Harbour Light faces 12 rivals in the 3.12.
Across the Channel, Auteuil stages a Grade Two heat at 4.17 that has been won by the likes of McTigue and Theleme in the past. A Grade Three contest follows at 2.50, with another Grade Three at 4.50 featuring last year's winner Losange Bleu.
What happens next
Following the conclusion of the Welsh Racing Festival, Chepstow's next scheduled meeting is set for Sunday, October 18, 2026.
