'It's fantastic to see so many visitors' - first opening of Gosden yard proves a hit on Newmarket Open Weekend

A first opening of John and Thady Gosden's yard proved a massive draw on day two of the Henry Cecil Open Weekend in Newmarket on Sunday, with thousands taking the opportunity to get a first look behind the scenes at Clarehaven Stables.

Most of the forecast showers stayed away, encouraging the crowds to flock to the tenth anniversary of an event which showcased 26 stables across the headquarters of Flat racing before afternoon activities, which included the racing personality show jumping.

Before the yards opened, visitors from as far away as Devon and South Wales were at the Tattersalls-sponsored gallops on Warren Hill, where the star turn was William Haggas’s Irish Champion Stakes hero Economics.

The flashy chestnut had a host of cameras and smartphones trained on him as he cantered past under Cieren Fallon in company with fellow Group 1 winner Montassib, Tiber Flow and Lake Forest.

Crowds got to see Economics (left) work on Warren Hill alongside three William Haggas-trained stablemates

One onlooker was Fiona Thurnell, from Chesterfield, who said: “I’m happy now I’ve seen Economics as he’s pretty special. It’s great to see him in the flesh and also walking back to the yard afterwards.”

Most of the chat was that people had come to peek behind the scenes at the Gosden yard. Many were making a weekend of it, such as Melanie Aplin from Axminster in Devon. She said at the start of the day: “We came up yesterday and went to the Godolphin rehoming yard, which was stunning, and then went racing [at Newmarket]. Along with everyone else we plan to go to the Gosden yard this morning and then hopefully Sir Mark Prescott's.”

Katy Lewis, from South Wales, was on the same trajectory and said: “All roads lead to the Gosden yard for us. It's on my bucket list, as was Newmarket racecourse, which we visited yesterday and loved as the people were very friendly.”

Sure enough, Clarehaven Stables was still rammed just after 11am. Thady Gosden said: “It’s the first time we’ve opened the yard for the Henry Cecil Open Weekend and it’s fantastic to see so many visitors. They were queueing up well before opening time.

Thady Gosden speaking to members of the public at Clarehaven Stables

"Walking around and talking to people, it’s clear that many people are very passionate racing enthusiasts. Hopefully they have found it interesting.

"It’s a great initiative to raise funds for the Newmarket Housing Trust and we’ve had visitors from all across the country, many of whom stayed over last night to make a weekend of it.”

They were also queueing well before the 9am start at Sir Mark Prescott’s Heath House Stables, which was opening for the first time in five years.

Sir Mark Prescott engaging with visitors to his yard

James Horton at Park Lodge Stables put on plenty for people to see, including a massage display, and even had one employee dressed as a jockey complete with a whip.

Horton found favour with the judges of the World Pool-sponsored best-turned-out yard competition, which the Racing Post helps adjudicate.

The two other winners in this category were Marco Botti, who pulled out all the stops at his Prestige Place yard, and William Knight, who put on spa and swimming pool exhibitions at his Rathmoy Stables on the Hamilton Road.

Ryan Moore's children Sophie and Toby were on the winning team for the racing personality show jumping, along with Grace McEntee and Kevin Philippart de Foy. Toby and Kevin posted clear rounds.

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