The first ever flat horserace between the Varsity foes saw ten student riders don light and dark blue silks to compete over the famous Rowley Mile Course at Newmarket on Friday 17th October. 

First place went to Kate Walters, a Veterinary Medicine student at Newnham and four-time British National Dressage Champion.  Having bided her time in the pack, she swooped to the lead aboard Ocean Applause, trained by John Ryan, in the final half-furlong.  Evie Hampson finished second on Phosphorescene in a light blue one-two, with Oxford’s Charlotte Lindsay-Bethune completing the places in third.

Cambridge came out on top in the Varsity contest by 56 points to 45, and captain Oli Lawrence lifted the Bearsted Perpetual Challenge Trophy in front of large crowd of supporters in the winners enclosure.  The trophy was once awarded to the winner of the Oxbridge point-to-point race held by New College, Oxford.  Robert Waley-Cohen, Chairman of Cheltenham Racecourse, whose father-in-law Dick Samuel, later Lord Bearsted, won the final renewal of the race in 1938, donated the trophy to the new Varsity contest.

The Cambridge team, which was completed by James Alexander and Ginny Fellows, were trained by jockey coach Michael Tebbutt at the British Racing School to prepare them for the rigours of race-riding.  The ten student riders were sponsored by Neptune Investment Management in support of Child Bereavement UK.

The Varsity Horse Race was the final race on Dubai Future Champions Day, and a good number of students took up the offer of free admission to be among the crowd of 10,607 racegoers at Newmarket.  The card, which included three races at the very highest Group One level, threw up more questions than answers about which two-year-olds to follow into their classic season next year, as the favourite was beaten in every race.

Too cruel for school? Toby Crisford argues against the ethics of the horse race.