Under Starter’s Orders – The Jockey Club Proves a Winner When it Come to Hospitality

You’ve begged, borrowed or bought the big, blowsy hat or fashioned the flamboyant fascinator into shape.

The strappy stilettos and divine dress are on trend for a day at the races.

The going is good to firm – barring deluges that will require galoshes and sou’westers.

You’ve studied the form and tuned into a radio chat with veteran jockey Frankie Dettori – I last interviewed him in the shower (him, not me) – about his chances in the main race.  He won.

So now all you have to do is place your bets and hang onto your hat – and your shirt.

There’s nothing quite like horse racing: the buzz of excitement, the cheers as thundering hooves charge the winning post, horse flesh glistening, jockeys’ colours flashing by in a blur of speed.

And if there’s an extra element to add to the recipe it’s tip-top hospitality and catering.

The Jockey Club Racecourses are on to a winner by employing respected racing pundit and sommelier Neil Philips as its Wine Tipster, (https://www.thewinetipster.co.uk/) to advise punters on choice of wine, food and horses at key race meetings.

Behind the scenes, Jockey Club Catering’s head chef Rhys Owen, 100 chefs and another 1,200 catering staff prepared a delicious array of food and drinks: cocktails and canapés, lunches and cream teas.

We were at one of the UK’s most celebrated events in the racing calendar: the Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Downs, which marks the beginning of the summer racing season.

We kicked off Ladies’ Day with a reviving flute of English bubbly (method Britannique) in the colourful Coates & Seely bus where founder Nicholas Coates and his younger son Tristram were in attendance to pour me a cheeky little English Rose.

They are an award-winning combo from Hampshire, selling their wares from the races to royal palaces. Tristram, head of sales, took his first sip of port at six and hasn’t looked back since.

Their vintage bus, found derelict in a Belgian village, has been lovingly restored and re-upholstered in sunny yellow and black, providing a cosy refuge if the weather turns nasty.

Next stop: Winning Post dining area for a serious sit-down luncheon, so serious that we ditched flying-saucer brimmed head-wear and fly-away feathers that might mar our meal: Severn & Wye salmon zizzed up with honey whisky beetroot, pickled cucumber of yoghurt; sirloin of beef with buttered purple potato, baby carrot and turnip with carrot crisp and jus; glazed lemon tart with blow-torched marshmallow, almond crumble and mascapone cream.

We saluted head chef Owen, who oversees 3,000 meals a day at the races, and whose father was head chef at Twickenham and Goodwood.  ‘It’s in the blood,’  he told us.  ‘I started off in the kitchen and grew to love it. Mum used to do an amazing lasagne and my two and half year old daughter Evie’s favourite is spaghetti bolognese.’

We passed on the pasta and settled for the Jockey Club’s focus on local, seasonal produce, a range of healthy, lighter dishes – to leave room for naughty teatime treats.

To keep appetites keen we placed our bets at the Tote desk then nipped out track-side – all of a dozen steps from our table and within spitting distance of the winning post.

There was a heady mix of anticipation, adrenaline, sweat, cigar smoke and deafening cheers and roars as small fortunes were made and lost, betting slips waved aloft in glee or shredded in disgust. (‘When  the fun stops, stop,’ as the advice goes).

Our party’s most successful punter was betting on tips from her 92 year old father, who keeps active with regular visits to ‘the murder house,’ as he calls his neighbourhood bookies.

Time for the last race. And tea: egg and cress sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam or, perish the thought, honey.

The sweet taste of betting success we left our modest winnings as a tip for cheerful, efficient table staff.

We’d had a day of fun and thrills fuelled by tip-top catering. Cheers to the next meeting.

FACT BOX

Sandown Park The Coral Eclipse Summer Festival 5th – 6th July

Ladies’ Day 5th July and Coral-Eclipse Day 6th July from £209.00 per person.

Moët & Chandon July Festival 11th – 13th July 

Moet & Chandon Dining Experience £480 per person

Three course meal with a different Moet & Chandon Champagne to accompany each course

Moet & Chandon Champagne Afternoon Tea

 Moet & Chandon White Party from £250 per person The Summer House Restaurant from £276 per person  

Haydock August 10th 

Haydock Sprint Cup Day September 7th

Cheltenham The Showcase Meeting October 25th/26th

Cheltenham The November Meeting 15th-17th 

Haydock Betfair Chase Day November 23rd

Sandown Tingle Creek December 6th/7th

Aintree Becher Chase Day December 7th

Kempton King George Meeting December 26th/27th