A BUMPER crowd filled Redcar Racecourse for the traditional curtainraiser to the Flat season.

The £100,000 William Hill Lincoln was the feature race on the card - attracting thousands for an event relcated from Doncaster during work at the South Yorkshire course.

The 8,000 crowd was rewarded with the best day's racing the course has ever seen - with top-quality horses taking their chances at the east Cleveland venue.

Chief executive Neil Etherington said: "It was exciting, thrilling and a one-off for Redcar Racecourse. But it was well worth it and I think everyone involved - the council, the police and all the staff - pulled out all the stops to ensure it was a success.

"Personally, there were plenty of sleepless nights and the heavy rain the night before didn't help but, by the end of it all, everyone had a good day.

"The challenge now is to keep the momentum going and build on the success of this meeting. It got people involved in racing and it was important we put on a good show and the card didn't let us down.

"The racing press appear to have been positive towards our efforts to host the Lincoln and the track itself held up to the test. The whole organisation of the event ran as smoothly as we could have hoped."

The 22-1 winner of the feature event, Blythe Knight, ridden by Graham Gibbons and trained by John Quinn at his yard in Malton, North Yorkshire, hit the front with a couple of furlongs left to lift the trophy.