The English racing season ended on a dramatic note on Saturday. Jamie Spencer needed to win the last race at Doncaster to tie Seb Sanders for the riding title. Spencer won and the epic battle ended with the two jockeys sharing the honours. 

Racing in England continues but the focus shifts to jump racing. Flat racing is held on ‘all weather tracks’. The Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National are the highlights of the ‘jumps campaign’ and will be held in March. In the last week of March, the flat season begins in earnest. 

Going into Saturday’s Doncaster card, Seb Sanders led Jamie Spencer by one point. The scorecard read 189-188.

Sanders struck first. In the second race, Eddie Ahern and Omnicat had what looked like an insurmountable lead. Sanders was riding Incomparable and was running on without hope. In an instant, the complexion of the race changed. Omnicat dislodged jockey Ahern and Sanders was in front with Incomparable. Eddie Ahern walked away unscathed. The score read 190-188 in Sanders’ favour. 

In the third event, Darryl Holland and Premier Danseur denied Jamie Spencer and Minus Fifteen a chance to move to 189. It was an exciting finish. 

Generous Thought won the fourth race with Jamie Spencer. Now Sanders led 190-189. 

Two races later, Borderlescott and Sanders had a slender lead down the stretch. Ryan Moore and Galeota joined issue with 300 metres to go. A photo was called and the magic eye showed Galeota had won and it was a short-head victory. The score was 190-189. 

Spencer rode the favorite, Pippa Green, in the seventh race, the November Handicap. At no point did Pippa Green make a menacing move. 

Sanders continued to lead by one as the eighth and last race came up. Backbord, the horse Sanders was scheduled to ride, was a scratch. Inchnadamph, Spencer up, was the 9-4 favourite in the 3300-metre finale. Seven went postward. 

Sanders watched the race from the jockeys’ room. He could win the title or he would share it with Spencer. Held up in fourth and fifth, Inchnadamph was let loose by Spencer inside the last 400 metres. Not many moments had passed and Inchnadamph had put daylight between himself and his rivals. He had bolted. The winning margin was eight lengths. Spencer had moved to 190. The final word had been said in the jockeys’ title race. Sanders and Spencer were joint winners. 

Jamie Spencer won the title in 2005. In 2006, Ryan Moore was the champion jockey. In 2007, Moore missed a major portion of the season owing to injury. In 1923, Steve Donoghue and Charlie Elliott tied for the championship. 

Spencer expressed his delight at the race coming to an end. “It is such a great relief. I cannot wait to shake Seb’s hand and he will be as happy as I am that it is all over.” 

Sanders spoke about his feelings when the last race was run. “It was not hard to watch the last race and Jamie honestly deserved it as much as me. To have been beaten would have been very hard after such a long season. I will have time to celebrate now.” 

Sanders went to Wolverhampton later in the day. He won the last race. Kissing was his mount and the 5-2 joint favourite. 

A career that would make any rider proud ended on Saturday for Kevin Darley. Indian fans have had the privilege of watching Darley. “I have been doing this for so long that I expect it will take a long time for me to get it all out of my system,” Kevin Darley said. 

Mark Guidry had one winner from five rides at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Eaton’s Gift was his winner in the eighth race. Guidry leaves racing with 5,043 wins. He is 48. Churchill Downs honoured Guidry with a ceremony in the winner’s circle. 

Garrett Gomez won with Hucking Hot at Hollywood Park on Saturday. It was the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Stakes. Hucking Hot gave Gomez the 70th stakes win in 2007. That tied Jerry Bailey’s mark of 70 in 2003. 

Bit Of Whimsy was victorious by one half length in the Mrs Revere (Grade II) stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The time was 1 43 on firm turf for the 1700-metre trip. Javier Castellano was the winning jockey. Barclay Tagg is the trainer. Bit Of Whimsy was getting an encore. She won the QE II at Keeneland last month. The tote returned $5.40. 

Barclay Tagg won another graded race but at a different track. At Aqueduct in New York, jockey Joe Bravo steered the Tagg-trained Dave to victory in the Grade II Red Smith handicap. 

At Woodbine Race Course in Toronto, Canada, Like A Gem won the Maple Leaf Stakes in a photo finish over I’m In Love. It was a 2000-metre race run on the polytrack. Emma-Jayne Wilson was the winning jockey and she was winning with Like A Gem for the third time in as many starts. 

Sources: Racing Post and NTRA