GUESTS enjoyed a very exciting day of racing at the Ladies' Day event at Taunton Racecourse last week, writes Richard Walsh.

Ladies and men alike dressed to the nines and watched some top quality local horse racing.

Local trainer David Pipe is enjoying a rich vein of late season form and over the last fortnight he has enjoyed 10 winners and had two horses placed second.

The Nicholashayne handlers winning streak started at Fontwell on March 29th when Tom Scudamore steered Neon Moon to victory at 11-4. Two days later one of the yards conditional jockeys Philip Armson won on Red Happy at 13-2 at Wincanton.

On April 1st Scudamore won at Newbury on Duc de Beauchene at 13-2, since when the stable jockey has notched a further two winners for Pipe- the first at Hereford on Sunday aboard Kolisi at 11-4 and then Mr Tambourine Man at Exeter on Tuesday at 5-2.

Pipe then had a double at Taunton last Thursday and on the same afternoon picked up a winner at Ffos Las since when he scored at both Wincanton and Stratford.

Pipe said: “I have been very pleased with our late season form and with only a few weeks left, we are certainly finishing off with a flourish. It has not been the easiest of campaigns, but the horses are running well and we enjoyed a further four winners last week with Neon Moon, Red Happy, Duc de Beauchene and Kolisi all obliging.”

With the National Hunt season drawing to a close it might be worth keeping an eye out to see if any further horses of Pipes runners end in the frame.

Meanwhile Taunton host their evening meeting on Thursday 21st April when the first of the six races on the card which has a very generous prize pot of £51,000 up for grabs goes to post at 5.23pm

The most valuable event on the card is the Novices’Handicap Steeplechase over just short of three miles at 6.23pm.