THE first race meeting I ever attended was the September Stakes one at Kempton in 1980. Much has changed since then – not least me – but the fixture is still going strong, albeit on all-weather and with the course itself under threat these days.

The latest running of the September Stakes last Saturday was a tactical affair in which Chemical Charge just got the better of Scarlet Dragon in a sprint finish with both horses recording timefigures of just 54.