Racing: Cross road to success

Jonjo O’Neill is consideirng the Thomas Pink Gold Cup and the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup for Scrahan Cross following an easy win at Bangor.

Scrahan Cross continued where he left off last year under Tony McCoy in the Countryside Alliance Handicap Chase and now has the bigger guns in his sights.

Unbeaten in three starts last season, and having his first outing for almost 12 months, he was ready to do himself justice and was given a lovely ride by the champion jockey.

He had him settled and jumping well and easing him into the lead at the second last let him stride effortlessly away to beet Keen To The Last by nine lengths with Luke Warm five lengths away in third.

O’Neill was not getting excited, but he admitted: ‘‘We will have a look at races like the Thomas Pink Gold Cup and the Hennessy, but we will have to see, Russell McAllister owns him and Legal Right and both are difficult to keep sound!

‘‘He does everything good when he is right, but he does not do much when off the bridle and this was not a very good race and he does like the soft ground.’’

O’Neill doubled up when Thrill A Minute (10-1) made won the Tarporley Hunt Handicap Chase but this one was ridden by conditional Liam Cooper, McCoy having partnered his stable companion Tribal Act who started 15-8 favourite but finished only third.

Thrill A Minute was making his debut over fences, and O’Neill added: ‘‘The weight beat the other horse, but Liam gave Thrill A Minute a great ride, he sat quite and let him come though nicely.’’

Master Tern had earlier been odds-on to complete a double for O’Neill and McCoy on his debut over fences in the Tilney Investments management Novices’ Chase but having had every chance finished only third to Il’athou, beaten 16 lengths.

Il’athou was making his chasing bow too and jumping well throughout he made all the running for Henry Oliver to give Simon Sherwood his first success since he moved from Lambourn to Bromyard in Herefordshire in June.

Sherwood explained: ‘‘This is our first ‘proper’ runner from the new yard, it takes a bit of time getting used to new gallops we have put a new one in and some schooling fences.

‘‘We have 15 horses in at present but we could cater for 25 and in the post Andrew Cohen days at Uplands (Lambourn stable) we are building up again.’’

‘‘This horse was always going to be a chaser and he loves this ground (soft) he lost his way a bit last season, I don’t think he got the two and a half miles, but I am sure he will get it over fences.’’