Field size woe continues for Racing League with no full races at Chepstow on Thursday

Racing Post
 
Field size woe continues for Racing League with no full races at Chepstow on Thursday

The second Racing League fixture at Chepstow on Thursday has once again failed to feature a full field size, as numbers of runners for the team event series continue to struggle.

None of the seven races at the Racing League's opening fixture at Yarmouth attracted a full field of 14 runners, with 71 horses of a possible 98 competing in the team contest, and the same amount of declarations were made on Tuesday.

The £100,000 7f handicap, which closes the card, will feature 13 runners with Accidental Agent the star name in the list and it will be the richest Flat race ever held at the Welsh track, worth almost four times as much as the current record. Prize-money is one of the main incentives of the Racing League, but organiser Jeremy Wray admitted to being "disappointed" by runners ahead of Yarmouth two weeks ago.

Accidental Agent, best known for winning the 2018 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, will be making his Racing League debut for Eve Johnson Houghton. Apprentice jockey Mia Nicholls had been declared to ride having partnered him to a good fifth-place finish in the Bunbury Cup last time out.

He will take on recent winners Atrium, Pearle D'or and Able Kane, who finished second in the opening night of the Racing League.

Two races attracted only eight runners, the 6f nursery and 1m2f handicap for three-year-olds. The 5f sprint handicap is another to fail to reach a double-digit field size with nine declared.

Wales and the West won the seven-team competition in 2022 and Thursday will be the region's first time hosting a Racing League fixture. The team, captained by Jamie Osbourne, also lead the standings after week one with 164 points following four winners at Yarmouth.

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