Gordon Brown – Race Reporter
Gordon has a wealth of experience of racing through his background in the written and broadcast media. His current principle role is reporting and supporting the scene in Scotland on Racing TV and relaying the latest news with Scottish angles.
There is over £1.6m in prize money on offer for 2022 as Hamilton Park opens its new season with a family raceday on Sunday.
The most valuable race on the card is the £35,000 Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation EBF Tangerine Trees Conditions Stakes over 5f and, with the top BHA rating of 106, Gis A Sub is likely to be sent off a short-priced favourite for Kevin Stott and Kevin Ryan.
Dragon Symbol, the winner twelve months ago, went on to finish second four times in Group 1 and Group 2 company and is just one of several previous illustrious previous winners of the race.
The other feature race is the £30,000 Patersons Of Greenoakhill Buttonhook Handicap, which receives its name after the unusual shape of the Lanarkshire track.
A wide-open contest sees plenty of trainers represented that have won the race before including in-form local handler Keith Dalgleish, who is triple-handed with Haizoom, Heights Of Abraham and Diocletian.
Forza Orta, another Yorkshire raider trained by Kevin Ryan, was an emphatic winner of a novice stakes last September on his only previous visit to Hamilton Park and he shaped with plenty of promise of his third-placed comeback at Thirsk.
Hambleton-based Ryan has a handsome 20 per cent strike-rate at the track where he has saddled a whopping 112 winners – more than he has achieved at any other UK turf venue.