THE current warm spell shows no signs of ending, which is great news for racegoers as the sunshine makes for a lovely day or evening out.

However, it means hard work at the racecourses for those responsible for looking after the turf and providing a safe racing surface. It will be a similar situation for the trainers maintaining grass gallops, and means providing additional care for the horses who are training and racing in warm conditions.

Racecourses and stable staff pull together to take the best possible care of the horses and you’ll see plenty of buckets thrown over hot horses at the races this week.

Chepstow’s local trainer Ron Harris is one man who doesn’t mind the lack of rain. He’s known for his success with sprinters and many of his current batch are horses that appreciate the fast ground. His latest find is a flying grey filly called Glamorous Rocket, who has won three races in the month of June, on 8th at Wolverhampton, on 25th at Windsor and last Saturday at Lingfield.

The three-year-old filly was a reasonably expensive purchase at £62,000 although, with her breeding, Ron thinks he might have picked up a bargain. She is a daughter of Glamorous Spirit, which also raced for Ron and owner Robert Bailey, and was a winner of a Group 3 race in Ireland. The sire is Dark Angel, responsible for the top sprinters Harry’s Angel and Battash, as well as Tip Two Win, which gave Welsh jockey David Probert such a great spin to finish second in the 2000 Guineas. With this success, Dark Angel’s stud fee now stands at £75,000 which makes Glamorous Rocket look comparatively cheap!

Having trained several members of the same family, Ron was keen to have this filly in the yard, and she looks a very exciting prospect. Like others in the family, including her mother, she loves the fast ground and has a fantastic turn of speed.

After three wins, including carrying a weight penalty on her latest start, she has been given a 16lb rise in the handicap which will make things harder next time out. After three races in quick succession Ron is in no rush to race again, and will wait for the right opportunity before unleashing his latest star. She’s one to keep an eye on when she’s next seen in action.

Another Welsh trainer making hay where the sun shines is Pembrokeshire’s Peter Bowen. His 7 winners in the last 2 weeks give him a 29 per cent strike rate and he’s currently second in the trainers' title race behind Dan Skelton on 20 winners and nearly £200,000 in prize money since April. Once the big boys get into gear in the autumn he will lose this position, but he is really making the most of the summer jumping scene.

One of the reasons he does so well is that he isn’t afraid to travel for the good opportunities. Last Saturday and Sunday he had winners in Perth and Hexham, on Friday he had a double at Cartmel in the Lake District.

The majority of the horses are ridden by the Bowen sons, Sean and James. Travelling a long way in a horse box in the current weather is hard work and time consuming, but the Bowen family’s efforts are paying off.

Chepstow’s meeting last Monday saw a surprise 50/1 win for Molly Jones in the 5 furlong sprint. The 9 year old mare is trained by another Welsh trainer, Tonyrefail’s Matthew Salaman.

The mare hadn’t won for a couple of years but the victory, her sixth career win, wasn’t a huge surprise to connections as she’d finished a close second at Salisbury last month.

Matthew Salaman was saddling his first winner at Chepstow. He’s the son of well known Cardiff born jockey and trainer, Taffy Salaman, whose claim to fame is that he saddled Churchtown Boy to finish second to Red Rum in the 1977 Grand National.

He has worked with his dad and abroad before returning to Wales to set up on his own.

Penhow trainer Robert Stephens also had a winner this week – Push The Tempo won a bumper, a flat race for jumping bred horses, at Worcester.

July is a busy month in Welsh racing. Chepstow’s next meeting is Ladies Evening featuring the BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, which takes place on Friday 13th.

The same evening Ffos Las hosts Flash Back Friday.

There is afternoon flat racing at Chepstow on Thursday 19th July and at Ffos Las on Tuesday 24th.

Chepstow’s famous Caribbean Night is on Friday 27th when racegoers will travel from across South Wales for this summer highlight.