Penrith's Dianne Sayer out to extend record at Carlisle Ladies Night

Penrith racehorse trainer Dianne Sayer is hopeful that she can extend her excellent record in Britain’s most unique race night at Carlisle on Monday.

VL Aesthetics Ladies Night is the only race meeting in the UK which is exclusively for female jockeys, and it will return for its 12th year at the Cumbria track.

The meeting has quickly grown in popularity over the last decade or so and it has certainly played a big part in growing the number of female jockeys in the weighing room.

Each of Hayley Turner, Hollie Doyle, Nicola Currie, Saffie Osborne and Josephine Gordon have all made their mark on the big stage since the meeting was coined and it is an event which Sayer takes very seriously indeed.

Sayer has a remarkable record, having trained winners on seven of the 11 race nights, while Call Of Duty won a race for lady riders the year before the evening was coined.

Four of those winners were ridden by her daughter Emma and Sayer explained that Ladies Night was something which she quickly became attached to.

Jodie Gray on Detective, left, and Emma Sayer on Redarna, right (Image: The Jockey Club/Ryan Day Photography?)

She said: “I love Ladies Night and our record is probably so good there because we throw everything we have at it.

“At first, it probably became a focus when it started because of my daughter Emma, who was at the beginning of her career.

“Finding opportunities at the time was tough and we were travelling the length and breadth of the country, so this was a breath of fresh air.

“We had four lady riders at the yard at the time so it was great, because everyone had the chance to have a go.

“There were a few critics at first, so it’s fantastic to see it become a huge success and that is because the people of Carlisle have got behind it.”

Sayer is due to have another strong hand next Monday and revealed that she hoped to send as many as five runners to Carlisle.

That quintet will be spearheaded by Carlisle specialist Detective, who has five victories on the course and was a close second on Ladies Night 12 months ago.

She continued: “Detective will definitely be there and he’ll probably run in the race over a mile that he was second in last year, while we’ll also look to send out Jackhammer, Arranmore, The Navigator and Iolani provided all is well.

“Detective is a superstar and he loves Carlisle, he’s won five times there. He seems to relish the stiff finish there and he’s ready to attack when those in front start wilting, so hopefully he can run well there once again.”