Jolly Boy set for quick reappearance after comfortable victory
The ex-French performer took some time to acclimatise to life in England, running disappointingly last season for his new stable.
But now he has found his form again, Jolly Boy proved too strong for his rivals in the Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd Handicap Chase.
Sam Thomas took up the running at the third fence and the 9-2 favourite maintained the gallop all the way to the line, sealing a 10-length victory with some fine jumping in the home straight.
“The penny has dropped,” said Williams. “It took him a while to get it together but he seems to be progressing with every race now and hopefully he can win again at Huntingdon on Thursday.
“At the moment he is out of the handicap there but if the weights go up he will be well in by a couple of pounds because he is due to go up 12lb on Saturday for last week’s win.”
Brendan Powell has his team in good order at present and he kept up the good work when Tora Bora got the better of a lengthy duel with Rosecliff to land the opening Shone Building Ltd Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle.
Desert Moonbeam made the running despite a slipped saddle for the first half of the contest before handing the lead to Rosecliff and 3-1 shot Tora Bora with a circuit to run.
The pair were well-clear of the remainder before a mistake at the last flight from 4-7 favourite Rosecliff gifted the race to Tora Bora, who came home two and a half lengths clear under Timmy Murphy.
“This time next year he’ll be running over three miles, I would imagine, because all he does is jump and stay,” said Powell.
Balladeer (7-2) made a stylish winning debut for trainer Lawney Hill when taking the Weatherbys Bank Beginners’ Chase.
The winner survived an early error and stayed on strongly to defy fears about the dead ground, scoring under Andrew Thornton by eight lengths from De Blanc.
Dearson battled home to see off the front-running Arumun in the Simon Taylor 40th Birthday Novices’ Hurdle.
Noel Fehily brought the 13-2 winner through to challenge his rival between the final two flights and he stayed on strongly to comfortably get the better of his rival by three and a half lengths.
Champion jockey Tony McCoy was none the worse for a nasty-looking fall in the Sam Harris Bookmakers Handicap Chase.
McCoy collided with the legs of the horse in front when thrown from his mount, Farmer Grant, at the second-last fence, but he was able to walk away from the incident.
The race fell to the Peter Bowen-trained Dunbrody Millar (100-30), who just edged out Ebony Jack in a thrilling finish.
