Keniry tops the table

Liam Keniry led the jockeys’ championship race for half an hour after giving Archie Babe a fine ride to win the Racing Schools Apprentice Handicap, the first race of the 2003 turf Flat season, at Doncaster today.

Keniry, who is with Andrew Balding‘s stable, drove John Quinn’s charge through on the rails to lead inside the final quarter mile and kept him up to his work to hold off the determined challenge of Broughton Zest by three-quarters of a length.

Quinn, who has a team of 40 this year, said: “I rang up for Liam. I thought he would be as good as you can get in a race like this claiming 3lbs and it‘s his first winner for me.

“Archie Babe had a bad fall over hurdles at Wetherby and it took a while to get his confidence back. He looks much better now and the plan is to run him again at Newcastle on Monday as he won’t get a penalty.”