Brave display earns Royal date
Scotland The Brave may raid Royal Ascot after justifying stable confidence with a clear-cut success on her racecourse debut in the Manny Bernstein Pay Double Result Fillies’ Handicap at Redcar.
Trained by James Bethell at Middleham, she was brought with a strong run by Jamie Spencer to cut down Jumhoor and Cabeza De Vaca inside the final furlong and go on to score by a length.
She is a first foal out of the 1998 Lincoln Handicap winner Hunters Of Brora, and Bethell, sending out his first winner of the Turf campaign, said: “She is nice and has been working very well at home, so we were hopeful.
“Jamie (Spencer) said something like the ‘Fern Hill’, a Listed handicap on the fifth day of the Royal meeting, might suit so we will have to see.”
Scotland The Brave’s owner Robert Gibbons had made the four-hour trip from his Scottish home to see the filly run, and he said with a smile: “There will be a lot of pain among the bookmakers in Perthshire.
“I was stewarding at the Perth meeting last week and I was tipping her to everyone there. I also have a two-year-old full brother to her named Little Bob with James.”
Obe Bold showed the benefit of her debut run at Thirsk three weeks ago when running out a decisive winner of the Manny Bernstein Credit And Debit Betting Maiden Auction Stakes in the hands of Franny Norton.
The youngster is trained by Alan Berry for Sunderland-based Comtake-Welding, whose supremo Brian Robe said: “It would be nice to run her at Ascot now, we will have to see.
“We have done a lot of work in the south and were involved in the construction of the London Eye and the roof of the British Museum – and we are working on the Gateshead Music Centre.”
Efidium will long live in the memory of apprentice Suzanne France having provided her with a second success in the space of five days in the Manny Bernstein Freephone 0800 821 821 Selling Stakes.
Huddersfield-born France, 22, was seen to good effect as she kept her mount going well to shake off the challenge of Bonito to beat him by three quarters of a length with Wood Dalling two lengths further away in third.
Efidium gave France her first winner on her 55th ride at Ripon last weekend, and winning trainer Neville Bycroft said: “Suzanne gets on well with the horse, he likes it here at Redcar and he is in very good form at the moment.”
Finmar gained his first success at the 29th attempt and got his trainer Linda Perratt off the mark for the season in the hands of Charlie Poste in the Manny Bernstein Don’t Get Disqualified Again Apprentice Maiden Handicap.
Miss Perratt was represented by Tim Finch who said: “It is about time he has won, but to be fair to him he has just needed a bit of sweetening up. He has had a back problem and he got jarred up at Musselburgh.”
