Grayson and Fitzpatrick double up
Merseyside trainer Peter Grayson and jockey Robbie Fitzpatrick took the honours at Lingfield with a notable 34-1 double.
They struck with Garstang, the 9-4 favourite, who swept to victory by a length and a half from Danetime Lord in the betdirect.co.uk Handicap.
“He was the best horse in the race on form and had been very unlucky on his previous outing,” said Grayson.
“This time they went quick enough for him.”
The pair were on target again when Lady Bahia (10-1) held Times Review by a neck in the No 5p Rule 4s At Betdirect Handicap.
Darryll Holland gave Mina A Saleem (7-2) a superb ride to win the Bet Direct On 0800 211 222 Handicap.
Making sure he got first run on Clive Brittain’s charge. Holland kicked for home and left the rest floundering, ending up a two-length winner from Gingko.
Li Shih Chen (12-1) was another to benefit from talented handling in the Bet Now At Betdirect.co.uk Maiden Stakes.
Darren Williams, riding for Alan Jarvis, conjured a burst out of the colt to rail the bend well and beat Lucky Token by a length.
Polish Power had the motor to cope with the rest in the opening betdirect.co.uk Handicap.
The Stan Moore-trained six-year-old, with John Egan on board, got a dream run down the hill, grabbed a lead after the bend and scored comfortably by two and a half lengths from Sugitani.
“I bought him a year ago from Germany and up until now, he has been mentally immature,” Moore said of the 4-1 winner.
“That has done his confidence a lot of good though and now we’ll let him go on the grass for a bit before he’s pointed towards jumping.”
There was a thrilling finish to division one of the seven-furlong Bet Direct Freephone 0800 211 222 Handicap, with the first four home covered by less than a length.
Cool Sands got the verdict by a short head from White Bear and there was a further headache for judge Dave Smith, who found he could not split the next two and had to call a dead-heat for third between Monashee Prince and Hand Chime.
The winner, trained by Derek Shaw at Newark and ridden by Dane O’Neill, was obviously suited by a return to his favourite trip and showed a tremendous amount of speed to get up and pip White Bear in a thrilling finish.
Smart apprentice James Doyle showed his class in the second division with victory on Meditation.
The young rider stole a vital march on his rivals on the bend and shot away to win by three and a half lengths from Kallista’s Pride, with Go Garuda back in third a further length and three-quarters away.
Winning trainer Ian Wood said of the 7-4 favourite: “She’ll now transfer to the grass surface after a three-week break. She deserves a bit of a rest as she’s been most consistent.”
