01 April 2008 Essex Farmers & Union - Marks Tey
Honourable Spider: will take all the beating in the Men's Open
Honourable Spider heads the 97 entries for Essex Farmers & Union meeting at Marks Tey on Saturday April 5.
Surprisingly beaten into second at long odds-on at Aldington on Easter Monday, Suzy Bull's classy nine-year-old should relish the testing underfoot conditions and will face a maximum of six opponents in the Men's Open.
Entries for the two Open races are rather lop-sided as the Ladies equivalent has attracted 23 entries including the hat-trick seeking Find Me Another, course winner Fauntleroy and the recent High Easter scorer, Bedtime Boys.
The action gets under way at 2.00pm and the last two races will be delayed slightly to enable spectators to listen to a commentary of the Grand National at 4.15pm, which will be broadcast over the tannoy. There will also be a mobile betting booth for all Aintree bets.
Jockeys for the penultimate event, the 16-entry Restricted, scheduled for 4.20pm will come out into the paddock as son as the National is over while the closing 24-entry Maiden, which was carded for 4.55pm, is expected to go off at around 5.10pm.
The admission fee is £10 per head with children free.
Marks Tey is five miles west of Colchester near the junction of the A12 and the A120. It needs to be approached from the A12 westbound, going beyond the Marks Tey junction and then taking the left turn signposted Easthorpe. If you are coming east on the A12, get off at the Marks Tey junction and double back to use the opposite carriageway.
