Jardine strikes lucky as Flood Defence strides to 16-1 victory
● Jockey lands an unexpected ride after freak accident rules out Gormley
Flood Defence, a spare ride for Harrison Shaw, sprung a 16-1 surprise for Iain Jardine in the longest race of the afternoon at Musselburgh yesterday.
The mare should have been partnered by stable jockey Jamie Gormley who was stood down on medical advice after breaking his nose in an incident prior to the second race when Logi threw his head back into his face after he had mounted him in the paddock.
Flood Defence scored by a length and a quarter in the 12f handicap and Jardine said: “Some of her winning form was on soft and heavy ground and I thought it would be on the quick side for her today.”
In the opening EBF Maiden Stakes, Ventura Mutiny scorched to an all-the-way success over hot favourite Chase The Dollar for jockey Barry Mchugh who said: “It was a typical front-running Musselburgh ride and my horse had the benefit of a couple of runs.”
Bal Mal, trained by John Quinn, completed a rapid hattrick when landing the Amazing Margaret Steps Up Handicap under Danny Redmond.
“It’s my first ride back in the UK since last November as I’ve been down in Australia where I’ve been trying to stabilise my weight,” Redmond said.
Meanwhile, at Musselburgh today, an Innings victory may not be be quite the emphatic margin as in a Test match – but could be on the cards for Richard Fahey’s colt in the Good To Go On Racing TV Maiden Stakes, writes Glendale.
Innings was beaten less than a length into fourth on his seasonal return at Haydock, a significant improvement on his debut at Newcastle and enough to put him right in the mix here.
Jedd O’keeffe has been struggling to get a win out of Aegeus, since acquiring the former Juddmonte gelding last autumn.
Aegeus has consequently fallen down the ratings, and can perhaps make it count in the Start Your Racing TV For Free Now Handicap.
Jumps racing returns in Britain today with a meeting at Southwell – and in line with current protocols, we already know what will be running 24 hours earlier than we usually do. A clutch of well-known connections are out to steal a march on day one. Among them, trainer Olly Murphy and jockey Richard Johnson – out to regain his crown this season – are represented by St Gallen in the In Memory Of Gary Parr Handicap Hurdle.
The seven-year-old was a disappointment when bidding for a hat-trick last summer but returns after an encouraging pipe-opener on the Flat, having had a wind operation and wearing a tongue strap for the first time.