Vintage Hanagan on a high
Paul Hanagan has made a terrific start to the new Flat campaign and booted home another winner in division one of the Alec And Dick 174 Not Out Maiden at Beverley.
Suitably inspired by a 5511/2-1 treble at Warwick on Tuesday, Hanagan cemented his position near the summit of the jockeys’ championship table when Vintage Steps seized the day by three-quarters of a length on her racecourse bow.
“I can’t remember making a better start to a season,” reflected the vastly-underrated rider.
Joint-owner James Parsons added of the Richard Fahey-trained 7-2 chance: “She was very green and Paul gave her a great ride.
“He’s riding with a lot of confidence.”
Life is also sweet for Alan McCabe, who earned his 57th success since joining the training ranks in August 2006.
The Retford-based handler this time hit the target with Luscivious, who revelled in the prevailing easy conditions to take the York House Construction Handicap.
The 4-1 joint-favourite was one of several runners hindered by a messy start but gathered enough momentum to see off the front-running Malapropism by two lengths.
“In this ground he is a very nice horse and that should bring him on a great deal,” said McCabe.
Ollie Pears secured the first Flat turf winner of his fledgling training career courtesy of Rowan Lodge.
The former jockey rode 168 winners, including 22 over hurdles, before his enforced retirement from the saddle in 2003.
Although a well-regarded member of the weighing-room, Pears has evidently transferred those talents across to the training game – even though landing the Welcome Back To Beverley Selling Stakes represented only a moderate achievement.
Sent off at odds of 12-1, the former Mark Tompkins inmate was reaching the end of his tether at the distance but was still half a length too sharp for Penel.
“We bought him to go jumping and we may try that again with him at some stage,” said Pears.
There were no bids for Rowan Lodge at the subsequent auction.
Mick Easterby and his team wore long faces after the Rapid Lad Stakes as the Graham Gibbons-ridden Harry The Hawk outgunned their even-money favourite Blue Spinnaker.
Easterby’s market leader suffered agonising trouble in-running under Paul Mulrennan and had to make to with a length-and-a-quarter second behind Tim Walford’s 4-1 shot.
“We missed 10 days of work with him and he was probably a bit short (of fitness), but that’s a good start to the season,” said Walford.
The positive pre-race vibes for Soul Sista in the second division of the maiden were effortlessly vindicated, while William Blake also had no trouble landing the odds for Mark Johnston in the Hearing Dogs For Deaf People Handicap.
Duke Of Touraine (11-2) was another to do the job with the minimum of fuss as Patrick Donaghy’s mount galloped to a five-length verdict in the Jennie Parvin Birthday Stakes.
