Welsh trainers and jockeys were out in force to support Saturday’s extra meeting at Ffos Las. ITV4 viewers had a rare sight of the course staging a Grade 2, the Towton Novices Chase, rerouted from Wetherby. Ben Jones rode the favourite Handstands to a clear-cut victory.
He was helped by rivals underperforming or coming to grief and only had one within hailing distance after the third last. He coped adequately with a drop back to 2m4f and while his fencing wasn’t spectacular, he never looked like falling and he jumped the last as well as any other. Handstands is not quite up to the standard of his stablemate The Jukebox Man, but the Grade 1 Scilly Isles at Sandown in three weeks will probably be next on the agenda and Jones said this should put him spot on for it.
Market drifter Juby Ball was an impressive winner of the opener, a two-mile maiden hurdle, for Evan Williams, Adam Wedge and the Rucker family, coming on the bridle to challenge the Sam Thomas-trained pacesetter Knead A Win two out and forge ahead on the run-in. This was Juby Ball’s first start over hurdles. He’d won a bumper here last season and the form of his subsequent Sandown second had been franked by the six others from that race winning over hurdles since. His patient connections had been ready to run him for a while, and had even declared him for a Listed race only to be prevented from getting to the course by travel problems.
The Rebecca Curtis-trained Heart Of Rome was backed from 12/1 in the morning in to 9/4 for the 2m4f hurdle. On TV before the race she said she couldn’t explain that, and the horse duly finished unplaced. Sean Bowen wasn’t afraid to make the running on Dangerous Touch, who was having his first start in a handicap and carrying twelve stone. After setting a steady pace he pressed on three out and with the aid of bold leaps at the last two flights he gamely held off a couple of late challengers.
One of them was the third horse, Korus, ridden by James Bowen (photographed). He ploughed a lone furrow on the inside, weaving his way along on the virgin ground between the hurdle and chase tracks. James was fortunate to walk away from a fall at the last flight of the 2.25 race. His mount lay winded on top of him. She had to be sedated in order for him to be removed, and racing was delayed for 25 minutes to allow the horse time to come round and stand up.
Bowen suffered no ill-effects, partnering Keep Running to an all-the-way win in the penultimate contest, a two-mile chase. Backed into 100/30 favouritism, the horse cleared his fences exuberantly despite veering markedly to the right approaching them. Keep Running finished full of beans and trainer Warren Greatrex – for whom Bowen has a 22% strike rate – will send him right-handed next time, possibly at Kempton.
Our next meeting at Chepstow is Tuesday 28th January when the first race is 1.12pm.
