Nichol at the double as Both Barrels and Kingston Bridge deliver wins at Kelso

Craig Nichol was the jockey to follow yesterday at Kelso, where he booted home Both Barrels and Kingston Bridge for a 48-1 double.

Donald Whillans gave the Hawick jockey his 50th course success with the former in the Support Qme Care Handicap Hurdle before the latter, trained by Ewan Whillans, sprung a 16-1 upset in the Go North Cab On Target Handicap Hurdle Series Final.

“It’s always great to have winners at your local track and I’ve known the Whillans family for a long time,” Nichol said. “Both Barrels jumped a lot better today and you’ve got to remember this was only his second time in a handicap.”

Ewan Whillans added of Kingston Bridge: “He wasn’t himself when disappointing last time so we gave him a full MOT to get to the bottom of things and that was a lot more like it, as everyone saw.”

Nick Alexander and Bruce Lynn were also in double form after teaming up with Up Hella Aa King and Atlantic Dancer.

Lynnexcelledonthefirstwinner, whose saddle slipped badly on the run-in, while Atlantic Dancer, owned by his family, is settoberetiredaftershelanded the mares’ handicap hurdle for the second year running.

There was a sour end to the day for Alexander after his

newcomer Kellerman suffered a fatal injury on the first circuit of the bumper, which resulted in the race being declared void.

Meanwhile, Kikkuli can kickstart his three-year-old season with a win in the Alex Scott Maiden Stakes at Newmarket today.

He is by the super-sire Kingman out of the excellent broodmare Kind, who produced none other than Frankel. That

makes Kikkuli a half-brother to the likes of Sir Henry Cecil's great horse, Champion Stakes winner Noble Mission and Bullet Train – so he is always going to struggle to live up to his exalted pedigree

Now trained solely by Harry Charlton, as his father Roger has retired, Kikkuli caught the eye on debut when second in a November Newmarket novice contest. Had he any other pedigree, it would have been judged perhaps more favourably, but the unbeaten winner subsequently went to France to score in Listed company and the third has come out and won, so the form is red-hot.

Charlton may already have had a winner by then, as his Grand Karat impressed on more than one occasion last season.

Fifth of ten on his debut at Newbury when 33-1, he was placed on his next two outings at Haydock and Kempton, latterly when a close second to the now 102-rated Orne.

Tom Marquand, fresh from another successful stint in Australia, is a notable booking and the JRA Handicap looks his off a mark of just 80.