LATE GOAL PUTS END TO CARDIFF WINNING SEQUENCE
GLEN WILLIAMS
CARDIFF City had a seventh successive victory snatched away from them courtesy of a late Paddy McNair goal which earned Middlesbrough a 1-1 draw.
Neil Warnock’s side, to their credit, dominated for large periods and it took a goal against the run of play from Sean Morrison to hand Cardiff an unlikely first-half lead.
It looked as though the Bluebirds had enough to hold on for the win, but with just eight minutes left, McNair popped up at the back post to deal a gut-wrenching body blow.
It means Mick McCarthy is still nine games without defeat and, all told, a point apiece was more than fair. But it means that spell in the play-off places has now come to an end thanks to Bournemouth’s win over Watford earlier in the day.
At the Riverside, Warnock’s men took complete control from the off.
They passed the ball around well in the middle of the park and overran Cardiff’s midfield. Nathaniel Men
MCFABULOUS can once again live up to his name in the Loch Lomond Whiskies National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell.
Paul Nicholls’ seven-year-old is clearly a classy individual, winning three of his four bumpers starts in his initial campaign, including a Grade Two event at Aintree.
He looked certain to make a splash in the novice hurdle division last term - but his career over obstacles started with an odds-on defeat at Chepstow, and Grade Two company then proved beyond him.
However, once he got his act together, he won his next two starts - culminating in an impressive six-and-a-halflength success at Kempton last March, with Aintree then looking a likely option until Covid-19 intervened.
McFabulous duly kicked off the current campaign with a Chepstow win. But pitched against top stayers in Thyme Hill and Paisley Park in the Long Walk at Newbury in November, he was found out and had to settle for third, with the three-mile trip perhaps a step too far at that stage.
Switched back in trip for a rescheduled Relkeel Hurdle at Kempton, McFabulous regained the winning thread in style, seemingly hitting a bit of a flat spot before engaging an extra gear and coming home a couple of lengths clear.
This two-and-a-half-mile trip is right up his street and looks the perfect stepping stone to Aintree in April.
High Up In The Air can defy his soaring handicap mark and complete a fivetimer in the Enjoy Champagne Piaff Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
Gary Moore’s runner has been a revelation since switching to fences this term, with his only defeat coming on his first attempt at Lingfield back in November.
The seven-year-old has not looked back since then, making all for a cosy win back at the Surrey venue next time before adding two clear wins at Plumpton and a nice verdict at Sandown last time.
High Up In The Air had to be pretty game on deep ground in Esher. But he rose to the challenge, and a further 6lb hike in the ratings for that success may not arrest his march just yet.
Generous Day looks to be returning to something like his best, and he can confirm that impression with victory in the MansionBet Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Chase at Hereford.
A six-length winner at Kempton back in November 2019, the nineyear-old lost his way a bit after that - running three more times without success before undergoing wind surgery last spring.
The operation did not appear to have had the desired effect on Generous Day’s first two runs. But a fair third on testing ground before Christmas offered a little encouragement, before he was unfortunate to bump into Sky Pirate on his subsequent run last month.
There was no disgrace in being beaten 13 and a half lengths behind that progressive winner, and Generous Day’s current mark of 117 is some 17lb below his rating in February last year - a factor which certainly catches the eye.