Jack earns many fans with fine win
THERE was a great atmosphere at DragonBet Welsh Champion Hurdle day at Ffos Las on Sunday and we saw some good performances from horses trained in the less fashionable yards.
Sheila Lewis doesn’t have many horses in her Brecon stable but the best of them, the grey Straw Fan Jack, trounced his rivals in the DragonBet Norton’s Coin Trophy.
He’d first shown that he was above average by winning an Aintree novice hurdle by 30 lengths two years ago. He settled and jumped well in this two-mile novice chase, his first outing over fences, and looks to have a bright future over the larger obstacles.
Nikki Evans’s Dancing Dani ran her best race for a long time in the 2m 5f chase, making most of the running and staying on strongly to finish second to Ho Que Oui.
The closest finish of the day came in the two-mile handicap chase, with Court Royale getting up on the line to win for Evan Williams and Adam Wedge. They were carrying the colours of local owner Janet Davies.
It was the yard’s first winner for 53 days, but that period only involved 20 runners.
With the Chepstow going judged as either good or good to firm, there were fewer runners than usual in the Unibet Jump Season Opener.
Nevertheless Paul Nicholls – who targets this fixture – saddled three winners from his eight runners.
The best of them was Knappers Hill in the Silver Trophy. He was winning at the meeting for third year in a row.
The sole Welsh winner over the two days came in Friday’s finale as Tim Vaughan and Charlie Price combined to take the three-mile conditionals’ chase with former point-to-pointer Galop Du Bosc.
The market could barely split the three runners, but Vaughan’s French-bred won by a street.
His new owners, the Optimistic Racing Group, have every reason to live up to their name.
The runner-up, Christian Williams’s Powerful Position, soared 32 pounds in the handicap last season due to four victories.
His stablemate Sister Sophie belied her starting price of 50-1 in the mares’ novice hurdle by giving dual bumper winner Presenting A Queen a real run for her money, and finishing a length-and-a-quarter second.