Fair impresses with easy success

Fair Along put up a brilliant front-running performance to trounce his rivals in the Weatherbys Bank Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

Temperatures dipped sharply overnight and racing was only given the go-ahead after three inspections.

The first to benefit from the decision were the punters who sent Fair Along off a well-backed 4-7 favourite.

Philip Hobbs’ four-year-old cruised home under Richard Johnson by 21 lengths from Ortolan Bleu, prompting Coral to make him their 12-1 favourite for the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Totesport were less impressed and left him unchanged at 20-1.

Fair Along had won a Grade Two contest at Cheltenham in similar fashion on his previous start and the trainer’s wife, Sarah Hobbs, said: “Richard said he was delighted with that and said he maybe wasn’t as fresh as he was at Cheltenham.

“He tries very hard and he jumped very well. Richard was just hanging on to him and letting him glide over his hurdles.

“We probably won’t run him for three weeks.”