Hobbs mystified by hot-pot flops

COMING to this theatre of racing dreams with favoured horses is always something of a double-edged sword and Philip Hobbs yesterday slipped and fell on the sharp edge of that particular weapon when hot-pots Fair Along and Detroit City failed to live up to expectations.

That Detroit City was subsequently sent for a routine drugs test after his dismal effort in the Champion Hurdle added further insult to the ignominy of his performance and Hobbs was left to travel back to Somerset to try and get to the bottom of what had happened his two vanquished heroes.

Having been introduced to the racecourse crowd in the morning as “the bullish Philip Hobbs,” – something which the quietly spoken handler denied, he was left to quietly pack his animals onto the transporter for the long journey home down the M5.