ALL eyes are on Yorkshire racing – and Graham Orange could not be happier.

The timing of this season’s Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival – which gets under way at Ripon tomorrow – could scarcely be better for the Go Racing In Yorkshire chief.

Malton jockey Paul Hanagan is the talk and toast of the tracks, courtesy of his eye-catching bid to bring the jockeys’ title to the North.

The in-form pilot’s boss, Richard Fahey, is also plundering winners left, right and centre from his Ryedale base, while Mark Johnston’s Middleham stronghold continues to make the headlines.

With a host of other local trainers and jockeys following their high-profile lead, the county racing scene has rarely been in better heart.

Throw into the mix a huge 42,000-plus crowd at York for last Saturday’s 51st John Smith’s Cup day and you can appreciate the spring in Orange’s step.

The third annual Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival explodes out of the stalls at Ripon, Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse, tomorrow.

Over the following eight days, festival-goers can canter around the finest courses the north has to offer – including Redcar, Beverley, Catterick, Doncaster, Thirsk and York – before the closing fixture at Pontefract a week on Sunday.

Championship-chasing Hanagan will boast a clutch of top rides throughout the week, making him favourite to retain last year’s status as top Festival jockey.

An army of runners will also provide Fahey with all the ammunition he needs to keep the top handler accolade at Musley Bank.

Orange, pictured left, believes the red-hot double act and their bid for national dominance will provide a mouth-watering backdrop to the Festival.

“It’s great for Yorkshire racing that Paul Hanagan has a chance of being champion jockey,” said Orange. “It’s certainly created a lot of interest in the North.

“The last Yorkshire-based winner was Kevin Darley ten years ago in 2000 and before that it was 1905, so it’s pretty rare for a Northern jockey to be champion.

“Paul’s presence will add to the Festival because he is also trying to retain his leading jockey title. That and the leading trainer will be hotly contested prizes.

“The outcome might not be decided until the final meeting at Pontefract a week on Sunday.”

Keepmoat are sponsoring the leading jockey and trainer awards, which are decided on a points system for first, second and third place finishes.

The Festival has also received backing from Welcome To Yorkshire, Skybet and Racing For Change.

Said Orange: “The Festival has been an absolute success. We are trying to build on the previous two years and we learn things as we go along.

“We’ve got excellent backing from the sponsors. To get support from the industry and from Yorkshire’s best companies is fantastic.

“The idea behind it is to showcase all that is good about racing in Yorkshire, starting in Ripon and finishing at Pontey.

“It’s all about raising the profile of racing in Yorkshire.”

He added: “It’s good to see that more than 40,000 people were at York last Saturday.

“It shows that racing in our neck of the woods, even in these hard financial times, is doing reasonably well.”

The Festival will be launched by former Emmerdale actress Claire King and Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome To Yorkshire, who will release celebratory balloons at Ripon.

Each balloon will contain a card which entitles the finder to a Yorkshire racing season ticket for next year if their balloon has travelled the furthest.

There will also be a racecard competition on each day of the Festival, with the overall winner receiving a luxury stay at the new five-star Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa in York.


Yorkshire Racing Summer Festival

Saturday, July 17: Ripon
Sunday, July 18: Redcar
Monday, July 19: Beverley (evening)
Wednesday, July 21: Catterick
Thursday, July 22: Doncaster (evening)
Friday, July 23: Thirsk, York (evening)
Saturday, July 24: York
Sunday, July 25: Pontefract