A long-time sponsor of Newton Abbot has made a bold move by naming a race at Monday’s meeting, the Well Done England Euro Champions 2024 Handicap Chase.
Matt Bailey, the landlord of Cornwall’s Par Inn and a passionate racing enthusiast, has not only sponsored a race under his pub’s name on the card but also decided to inject some positive energy ahead of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands and potentially the final. He’s banking early on Harry Kane lifting the trophy in Berlin on Sunday.
Bailey’s proactive gesture has already stirred interest in the racing community, with the landlord hoping the England team will draw inspiration from his confidence and bring home the Euro 2024 trophy.
He said: “We’ve also got the Par Inn race before this and then the England race. Normally all the races I sponsor will have Par Inn in them, but I thought let’s push the boat out and see how we go. I wanted people to know after Wednesday really, but we obviously had to put the race name in before then, and it’s a case of fingers crossed now. It will be lovely if Gareth Southgate does his team talk on Wednesday, or even Sunday and says Matt from the Par Inn has sponsored a race in our name, and we’ve got to go prove him right. I wouldn’t say it’s home and hosed, but I’m keen for us to have some good vibes – we’ve not played well so far and hopefully, this is something good to think about.”
He went on: “If it comes in then I’m a genius and if it doesn’t, it’s something we can all have a laugh about. We just wanted to have a bit of fun and it’s a bit of publicity for the pub, it shows we’re out there, and it’s just fun.”
An avid follower of racing, Bailey has sponsored races at Newton Abbot for fifteen years, fostering a strong connection with his local racecourse.
He added: “I’ve been in the pub 15 years, and we’ve sponsored at least one race a year in that time. This is the fourth race I have sponsored at Newton Abbot this year, and I have a great relationship with the racecourse. There aren’t many pubs nowadays that follow racing like we do and they support us, and we support them and we just have a good time basically. I would argue, as pubs in Cornwall go, we’re the most dedicated racing pub. We have racing on every day, we have people watching every day, and Cheltenham week is my biggest week in the pub every year. Perhaps if England wins, Gareth and the lads can join me at Newton Abbot to present the trophy with their trophy!”