Winging it – Williams is a National hero

OUR first April fixture takes place on Thursday (April 7) when we have seven races from 1pm.

It is also the opening day of the Aintree Grand National meeting and all the races will be shown on our big screen.

Tickets are £17 in advance and £20 on the day. There is a £5 concession on the day for seniors.

Not for the first time this year, Christian Williams-trained horses dominated the finish of the weekend’s big race on ITV, as Win My Wings and Kitty’s Light finished first and second in the Coral Scottish Grand National.

They were returned as two of the 13-2 cofavourites.

Nine-year-old mare Win My Wings travelled easily and looked the winner a long way from home. “It was all straightforward really,” said winning Irish amateur jockey Rob James afterwards.

It was the first time since 1995 that the Eider Chase and the Scottish National had been won by the same horse in the same year. But although Win My Wings is a confirmed stayer and enjoyed the good ground, she is versatile enough to have won over two-and-a-quarter miles on heavy going in France.

It was a great day for the Welsh. Sean Bowen rode the winner of the Scottish Champion Hurdle. His mount Anna Bunina was second in the race last year. The mare was kept to the inside and was poised to challenge before the final flight when a gap closed in front of her.

Bowen switched her around the leading pair and they won going away.

Richard Patrick rode Do Your Job to take the Future Champions Novices’ Chase. It was the jockey’s second Grade 2 winner of the season – Hillcrest being the other – and it was a breakthrough success at this level for trainer Michael Scudamore.

At Newbury Mot A Mot won on his first start for Sam Thomas. Owned by Dai Walters, he was having his first run in a handicap. With the benefit of a wind operation and a first-time tongue tie, it seemed that all the stars were aligned. He was returned at 11-4.

Two Chepstow races went to the home team. In the three-mile chase Wayfinder scored for Rebecca Curtis and Ben Jones, taking his record to four wins from 12 starts. The runner-up, Tim Vaughan’s Clemencia, deserves a change of luck.

Ballinsker won the two-and-a-half mile chase for Evan and Isabel Williams, but he may be flattered by the margin of victory.