Earliest meeting: April 1864
Final meeting: Tuesday 9th May 1871 (mixed cards continued until 1908)
The small Cornish town of Fowey lies in the south of the county and is famous for two forms of racing. It held regattas for a long period of time, but back in the late 19th century it organised horse race meetings on a number of farms over a number of years. Although it is known that a meeting was held in 1864, few details survive except from a report in the Royal Cornish Gazette (7th April 1865) which stated that 'the meeting in 1865 was a decided improvement on that of the previous year'. Details of the 1865 meeting are shown below. One of the most detailed records of racing in Fowey was on Monday 18th April 1870 when a card was staged at Lawhibbette Farm, near Castle Door (Castledore) and just two miles from Par railway station. The 2 ½ mile course was over ploughed fields and the meeting opened with the Ladies Plate which went to Mr F B Cory’s Lucy. The Feature race, the St Austell Stakes, was won by Mr Vincent’s Jessie, while the day concluded with the Lostwithiel Stakes over 2 ½ miles which saw Mr Sobey’s Bessie beat Radical. Races continued for a considerable time after this meeting, sometimes at Hill Hay Farm (Also recorded in newspapers of the day as Hill Bay Farm, Hill Haye Farm or Hillhay Farm), and sometimes at Windmill Farm, although the cards increasingly included pony and Galloway races. Full details of the Hill Hay Years 1887-1908 are contained in Tony Lake's book.
April 1865
Fowey Hunt Open Chase
£3 to the winner, £2 to the second
1. Charlie, owned by Mr Sydney Cardell and ridden by Cardell
2. Dick, owned by the Fowey Hunting Club and ridden by Prynne
3. Why Not, owned and ridden by John Sobey
Fowey Harriers Chase
1. Lucy, owned by Mr Andrews and ridden by Dyer
2. Lion, owned by Mr Anstey and ridden by S Hoare
3. Little Topsy, owned by Captain Sobey and ridden by John Sobey
4. Bessy, owned and ridden by Mr Higgs
5. Fanny, owned by Mr Hicks and ridden by Body
Monday 18th April 1870
St Austell Stakes
1. Jessie, grey mare owned by Mr Vincent
2. Bob, aged horse owned by Mr Higgs
3. Radical, bay horse owned by Mr J C Davis
On Tuesday 7th April 1896 a meeting was held at Hillhay Farm, the programme consisted of Pony races, Galloway races and 3 thoroughbred steeplechases. The trophy opposite, the Torfrey Cup (valued at £15 15s), is shown courtesy of David Copland, and was presented by Mr W Gundrey of Torfrey.
Tuesday 7th April 1896
Torfrey Cup Steeplechase over 2 ½ banking course
1. Red Shirt
2. Sanfoin
3. Matt
Fell Jack the Dandy
Later in the day Red Shirt also won the Fowey Stakes 2 ½ mile steeplechase, completing the course in the quickest time ever on the course:-
Fowey Cup Steeplechase over 2 ½ miles
1. Red Shirt
2. Sanfoin
3. Lady Lawless
4. Jack the Dandy
Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-
London Illustrated News
Racing Illustrated 1895-1899
The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
The Sporting Magazine
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727
