Sierra sweet for Barker
Bargain buy Sierra Vista once again showed she is a horse for the big occasion with a record-breaking victory in the williamhillpoker.com Be Friendly Handicap at Haydock Park.
The mare was well ridden by Paul Hanagan, who was partnering his first winner since returning from injury.
The locally-born jockey had been out of action for around four weeks with a broken collarbone after a fall at Pontefract.
But he has lost none of his dash as he showed when booting David Barker’s 25-1 shot home in the five-furlong contest.
Mr Wolf, also trained by Barker, set a furious pace tracked by the eventual winner and Hornpipe.
Sierra Vista went on over a furlong out and came clear to beat Green Manalishi by a convincing one and three-quarter lengths in a track-record time of 58.20 seconds.
With the win Sierra Vista was taking her earnings over the £100,000 (€150,000) mark.
“The bigger the day the better she is,” enthused Barker. “She’s won on Northumberland Plate day, at the Newmarket July meeting, at Glorious Goodwood and here on Sprint Cup day - not bad for a filly who cost 500 guineas as a yearling.
“She’s in the December sales but I’d just like her to get some black type. Even with a penalty, if she’s in that sort of form, I wouldn’t rule her out of the Ayr Gold Cup but looking to her future we might try and get some black type – she deserves it.
“There’s the Listed race at Hamilton the day after Ayr and we might look at that.”
Hanagan was delighted to regain the winning thread and said: “The injury made quite a big dent in the season for me, especially when my boss Richard Fahey’s horses were flying and it was quite hard being stuck at home.”
Sierra Vista is 20-1 from 40-1 with the sponsors for the totesport Ayr Gold Cup.
Balkan Knight was backed into 9-2 favourite for last month’s Ebor at York but could finish only fourth.
However, he gained handsome compensation when recouping losses in the £75,000 (€110,000) williamhill.co.uk Old Borough Cup.
Liam Keniry settled the David Elsworth-trained entire towards the rear of the field as Jeepstar set a steady gallop.
Tim Easterby’s tough front-runner was still at the head of affairs in the straight with Balkan Knight (15-2) making relentless progress on the outside.
The latter went on over a furlong out, but once in the lead hung to his left and only just held on by a neck from the rallying Jeepstar, with the strong-finishing Bay Story just a short head away.
“I didn’t want to hit the front too soon and as it has worked out I’ve come round everything because I thought I was going to get stopped. When I hit the front over a furlong out he pricked his ears and gave the other horses a chance,” explained Keniry.
Elusive Dream, who finished fourth on his first start for 342 days, was promoted to 10-1 favourite by VC Bet for the totesport Cesarewitch, while the sponsors and William Hill go 12-1 about Mark Prescott’s charge winning the second leg of the autumn double.
Balkan Knight is also vying for favouritism for the Newmarket marathon and is a general 12-1 chance.
Linngari was kept up to his work by Ryan Moore to take the William Hill Superior Mile by a length and a quarter from last year’s victor With Reason.
The Michael Stoute-trained winner looked a difficult ride in the early stages but the young jockey soon got him settled before producing him to hit the front over a furlong out.
“He stayed on well there and he’s come on a lot since the spring. He’s a nice horse,” Moore said. “He was a bit keen early on but I don’t think it’s a problem with him.”
Trainer Barry Hills and his jockey son Michael had finished second in the feature William Hill Sprint Cup with La Cucaracha but they went one better 30 minutes later on the card with Giganticus.
The son of Giant’s Causeway produced an impressive burst of speed to beat Erytheis by a length and a half in the williamhillcasino.com EBF Maiden Stakes.
Giganticus was having only his second start having shown promise on his debut at Newmarket 60 days ago.
“He had ringworm after he ran at Newmarket and that’s why he hasn’t run for a while,” explained Hills.
“Although he’s won over six and he’s in the Mill Reef, I’d like to go over seven furlongs with him.”
Genari finished fast under Seb Sanders to take the William Hill 0800 444 040 Nursery for Whatcombe trainer Paul Cole.
Moore just missed out on a double when his mount in the closing William Hill/Stanleybet Children In Need Handicap, Ross Moor, was denied by Halla San, the 3-1 joint-favourite.
The winner was never far off the pace and after being produced by Alan Munro to hit the front inside the final furlong, landed the spoils by three-quarters of a length.
