JOY AS DUNSKAY HEADS TO AINTREE

DUNSKAY booked his ticket to Aintree in the spring when capping off a fine afternoon for Ben Pauling at Huntingdon in the manner of a smart operator. Pauling had earlier won the feature M1 Agency Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle with Handstands and was doing somersaults after seeing Dunskay bounce back to his very best in the concluding PHP Architects Open National Hunt Flat Race. A taking winner at Exeter on debut, he was disappointing in Listed action at Ascot prior to Christmas, but carried a penalty to a comfortable success at odds of 41 in the hands of Harry Cobden to tee-up another step up in class at the Grand National meeting in April. ‘It’s been a good day and this is a lovely horse,’ said Pauling. ‘He trach washed dirty after Ascot and I was fairly easy on him between there and now, so I thought he might need today. He’s done it nicely, so I’m really pleased. ‘He’s a very nice, straightforward, big, gorgeous horse – a big, powerful horse. He’s going to be one for the future again, but he’s a lovely horse and I was delighted with that. Winning under a penalty is never easy, so I’m pleased. ‘He will go to Aintree for the Grade Two next. We have some nice novices and bumper horses and it’s going the right way – we’re building a nice team of young horses, which is what it is about.’ Gavin Sheehan’s fine season continued with a doublek. He got the day off to a brilliant start aboard Christian Williams’ 16-1 Fortunefavorsdbold in the Newlands Developments Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Chase.