The Claydon Racing at Witney Oxfordshire Gold Cup was the culmination of a busy three weeks Saturday racing at the Sandy Lane track.

Won in style by Barnish Booth, locally-owned by Mick Freshwater and trained by Kevin Hutton at Swindon, it sealed a double for the pair after Slippery Patch took the 595m open, the John Dunsden Retirement Classic, when leading all the way.

Alan White, of Claydon Racing, was really pleased with his sponsored race night, and although there were no big wagers save for a £500 bet on Glenbane Air in the feature race, which would have taken £2,000 out of the satchels, there were plenty of smaller bets that ensured it was a good night all round.

It was likely that Oxford’s major open races would have suffered this year had it not been for the support of the bookmakers again.