Spencer rings up two more winners for Bell

HAVING ridden a double at Folkestone 24 hours earlier, Jamie Spencer repeated the trick at Yarmouth yesterday and gave the Michael Bell stable a brace of their own when foiling a major gamble in the Win More At Breckalnd Bingo Thetford Handicap.

Punters piled in for Woolly Bully, who was sent off the 15-8 favourite to make a winning handicap bow. But just as it looked the favourite was going to oblige, Spencer brought 8-1 winner Malech through with a well-timed run to lead just over a furlong out and score by a length and a quarter.

Spencer is now four from four for his rides for the Bell yard in 2006.

The double had been initiated when 8-1 chance Red Evie took the opening Letheby & Christopher Median Auction Maiden Stakes.

Leading over one furlong out, the daughter of Intikhab kept on well to hold 5-4 favourite River Kirov by a length and three-quarters, the pair coming home well clear.

But the story away from the track was the condition of the ground which was a cause for concern for many trainers and jockeys with bare patches in the grass clearly evident across the course.

“They shouldn’t be racing at this time of the year - it’s as simple as that,” said trainer Mark Tompkins.

Egan described it as “horrible ground with bare patches everywhere” and weighing-room colleague Jimmy Quinn called it “disgusting”.

It was officially changed to firm, good to firm in places after clerk of the course Charlie Moore had consulted with the riders and Jockey Club racecourse inspector Nicky Carlisle.

“It’s not ideal but it’s perfectly safe and in the circumstances I think the team have done a very good job,” said Moore.

Musicmaestroplease was another winner who clearly appreciated conditions as he bounded clear to take the Racecourse Video Services Handicap over seven furlongs.

Trained by Stewart Parr, former assistant to Jeremy Glover who took over his stables last season, the well-supported 13-2 chance was never far away from the lead and comfortably accounted for his 13 rivals headed by 100-1 chance She’s Dunnet.

George Margarson’s fast-improving gelding, Young Mick (2-1 favourite), was another clear-cut winner when taking Weatherbys Printing Handicap by an easy five lengths from Caribbean Pearl.

The four-year-old, winning for the first time on turf after five all-weather victories already this year, is viewed as a long-term prospect for the Tote Ebor by his trainer.

Christine Dunnett’s short trip from Norwich to Yarmouth paid some unlikely dividends as she enjoyed victory with 33-1 chance Silver Dane and also saddled a 100-1 runner-up.

The Norfolk handler ran four horses in the Peggy Farley Memorial Handicap, but rather than her better-fancied representatives it was outsider Silver Dane - racing from a stone out of the handicap - who stayed on strongly to land the spoils by a length and a half from Canadian Danehill.

Eddie Ahern, who rode runner-up Canadian Danehill, received a two-day suspension for careless riding.

Unfortunately for the jockey, the ban triggered an automatic referral to Shaftesbury Avenue with the ban having taken him past the threshold and he now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He did at least have the consolation of taking the closing Vauxhall Holiday Parks Handicap aboard 6-1 chance Dragon Slayer.