Port scores to maintain fine run for Evans

DAVID Evans has been in great form lately, with nine wins from 17 runners in the last 10 days of July and 14 winners in the month as a whole.

His improving handicapper Old Port won a nice prize at Newmarket on Saturday. Facing only three rivals, Derby-winning jockey Richard Kingscote sent him into the lead at halfway and he outstayed them in game fashion.

That was the horse’s fifth success of 2022.

That evening at Lingfield, Evans’s threeyear-old filly Midgetonamission ran for the 25th time in little more than 12 months. Being busy must agree with her, for she won easily. It was her third victory.

Evans maintained the momentum by winning the opener at Chester on Sunday with the strongly fancied Kiss N Cuddle, the colt’s third win in July. He cost 45,000 guineas as a yearling and looks like a good purchase.

David Probert had another good week, partnering Andrew Balding’s Sandrine to take Glorious Goodwood’s Group 2 Lennox Stakes over seven furlongs.

Balding’s huge Kingsclere yard has several jockeys to call on and rides tend to get swapped round, but Sandrine is unusual in that Probert has ridden her in all her nine races. Owner Kirsten Rausing must have liked the way he rode her to win first time out and he’s been on board ever since.

Back at Goodwood on Saturday, Probert guided stablemate The Foxes to win a maiden for two-year-olds. Owned by the King Power organisation, the Leicester City FC chiefs reserved this name for a horse they thought had great potential.

On Sunday Probert was on another Balding horse, Tostado, the 12-1 outsider in a five-horse race at Chester. After making most of the running he held on gamely to win.

Earlier in the week John Flint brought off an unusual double in the space of 24 hours by winning a seven-furlong race at Goodwood and a two-and-a-half-mile steeplechase at Stratford. Blaze A Trail, the winner at Stratford, was ridden by Connor Brace, who earlier in the week notched up his 100th career win.

Brian Hughes leads Sean Bowen 50-46 at the top of the National Hunt jockeys’ table. Hughes has had 15 winners from 34 rides in the last fortnight.

Ffos Las is poised for a busy month. There is racing on August 10-11 and a fixture on August 25 before Ladies’ Day is held on August 26.