Go Another One gives Mcconnell instant Kelso success
Go Another One was an impressive winner of the £16,000 Aitken Turnbull Architects Handicap Hurdle at Kelso yesterday.
Supported into 6-4 favourite from 5-1 earlier in the day, he was the first runner at the Borders venue for Irish trainer John Mcconnell.
Winning jockey Sean Bowen said: “I’d say he’s still improving and he’s won nicely. He has the scope to jump fences and could be a staying chaser over three miles one day.”
Aye Right was the first horse into the new winners’ enclosure after making all under Callum Bewley in the Kelso Annual Members Novices’ Hurdle.
The Jedburgh raider was also sent off a well-backed 6-4 favourite and trainer Harriet Graham said: “We thought he’d run well but the gamble wasn’t down to stable money!
“He was a good bumper horse and his form over hurdles is good too. It’s nice to have a winner here as his owner Geoff Adam is a director.”
Today sees the first action of Ayr’s three-day Gold Cup meeting and Charlie Fellowes is optimistic Escalator can continue his rise through the ranks by making the most of testing conditions in the William Hill Doonside Cup.
Having scored on soft ground at Goodwood last time out, the Cape Cross gelding will attempt to claim a fourth win of the campaign on his first start at Listed level in the mile and-a-quarter contest.
The Newmarket handler said: “Escalator is improving rapidly. The trip is fine, as is the ground, as he won on bottomless ground at Goodwood.
“As a three-year-old he carries very little weight, which in this ground means a lot, so there are a lot of positives and he is a very straightforward horse.”
He added: “This race has been the plan since Goodwood. I’ve been pretty happy with him and we’ve had a clean run into the race.
“The ground was going to be quick enough at Newbury for the races he was entered in down there, and we know that he acts well with cut in the ground.”
Roger Charlton expects Aspetar to take a step forward for the run, having not been sighted since losing his unbeaten status in a Group Two in Deauville back in June.
He said: “He has been waiting for this soft ground since his run in France, where the ground was a bit too quick for him.
“We know he handles soft, but whether he handles heavy, which it could be, I don’t know.
“It does look a tough race and he will come on for it.
“He is a mile-and-a-half horse, really, but we don’t really have many chances over that trip for him. He won well at Goodwood on his penultimate start and he didn’t really do much wrong in France, just the ground was a bit quick.”
Saeed bin Suroor bids for a sixth win in the race with the hat-trick-seeking Dubai Horizon, while Ralph Beckett will be double-handed through last year’s Cambridgeshire winner Dolphin Vista and multiple Group-race scorer Air Pilot.
Agincourt absolutely dotted up last time out at Ripon and is expected to make a bold bid in the British Stallion Studs Scottish Premier Series EBF Fillies’ Handicap.
David O’meara’s three-yearold was getting off the mark at the fourth attempt, having run some way below her best at the same venue the time before.
She was found not to be herself following that penultimate run, so it was no real surprise to see her bounce back and it will be interesting to see what she can do on her handicap bow.