Bend it like... Wetherby

Now it's up to regular Wetherby watchers to see whether track chiefs have succeeded when the new Jumps season gets under way next Wednesday.

It has been a very busy summer at Yorkshire's premier National Hunt course.

Not only has £1.4 million been spent on building the formidable Bramham Hall, but the current A1 Bramham-Wetherby Road Improvement scheme has also meant changes on the turf.

A new, sweeping home bend has been constructed and the home straight has been realigned - major changes for a track renowned to be a fair test for long-striding, clean-jumping gallopers.

With a seven-race card, the first of 19 days of racing during the campaign, on the horizon, chief executive John Sanderson is confident they have got the changes right.

He is under no illusions. New turf takes time to settle, new buildings need time to be appreciated. But, Sanderson argues, change was necessary for the good of the course.

"It was quite an investment," he said. "What I was at pains to do through the track realignment was to change the character of Wetherby as little as possible," he added. "It was absolutely critical that we maintained our essence.

"We are a track that's a mile and a half long and we are a no excuses' track. When it first became apparent we would lose the whole of the home bend under a Compulsory Purchase Order for the A1 we sat down with the Sports Turf Research Institute and went through a number of proposals.

"We wanted to lose our shape as little as possible. Now we have a more sweeping bend, but that's not a bad thing, and we have moved the home straight but without it affecting the sight lines from the stands.

"We have a lot of new turf that needs wearing in. It needs time, weather and racing. I don't think we would kid anyone that it won't be better in a year and better still in three or four years, but we are looking forward to seeing it in action."

The new "multi-functional" hall will mean improvements for racegoers in the Paddock Enclosure as well as providing a boost to Wetherby's non-racing business ventures - such as conferences, dinners, exhibitions and receptions.

The hall was created by demolishing the old bar and diner at the back of the Bramham Stand and can cater for as many as 260 formally seated guests.

With the racecourse unable to afford the massive redevelopments favoured in recent years by tracks such as York, it was felt this development was the next best thing.

"We have created a really good facility," Sanderson said. "We needed to create a big room and, after consideration, it wasn't a hard decision to take the old buildings down. They were so old.

"When we built the Millennium Stand, and opened it in 2000, that was at the top of our spectrum. We then said, when can we afford to make a significant, worthwhile investment for Grandstand and Paddock?' "We couldn't demolish the whole stand because to replicate it would probably cost in excess of £6 million. For us, that was simply a bridge too far. The penny dropped that any development had to go on the back of the Bramham Stand.

"We presented a scheme to the board and they were 100 per cent behind it. We are very proud of the finished results."

So with a host of top meetings ahead, including the first of the season's Cheltenham Gold Cup trials in the Charlie Hall Chase, Wetherby is likely to be busier than ever this year.

And the Charlie Hall is likely to see the reappearance of Cheltenham superstar My Way De Solzen, with Wiltshire handler Alan King targeting the race for his Arkle winner.

"We are very much looking forward. It has been quite a long close season. We stopped racing on May 10 which was three to four weeks earlier than usual and we are starting a week later this time," Sanderson added.

"There's a lot to do at the moment and we are all very busy but we are champing at the bit. We have had a lot of changes, now we want to unleash them on the racing public."

Loch Jipp's the tip at York

The paddypower.com Sprint Trophy might be the big event of the day at York Racecourse tomorrow, but the listed Rockingham Stakes is an intriguing contest.

Some talented two-year-olds are plying their trade, with a number of top local trainers looking to get their hands on the bulk of a valuable £25,000 purse.

Malton-based Richard Fahey's Mister Hardy is noted with the talented Paul Hanagan on board, but it is Loch Jipp, the focus of a previous Turf Talk feature, that gets the vote.

Loch Jipp is owned by York businessmen Ian Barran and Paul Rhodes and trained by Malton's John Wainwright.

She has shown middling form since scooping the Hilary Needler Trophy at Beverley at the start of the Flat campaign.

But she's been to Royal Ascot since then and this contest, while still containing some decent company, looks far more up her street. At 11-2, she's worth an each way look - particularly with Lower Dunsforth's Kevin Darley in the saddle.

Each week, we put our money where our mouth is by selecting tips from the week's big race meetings.

Next week, the focus will fall on the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on October 20.