Pan fires Plumpton rivals
There is a time and a place to catch most horses right and a sweltering afternoon at Plumpton is just what Pan The Man likes.
Seamus Mullins’ gelding has now earned three of his four career victories on quick ground over two and a half miles around the Sussex track and collected the Equine America Handicap Chase for the second year in succession.
Only three finished and the loudest applause came when Dasher Reilly rose gingerly to his feet after falling in front of the stands with a circuit to go.
But he would have struggled to peg back Pan The Man (5-1) in any event as he came in by five lengths.
“He does seem to like it here,” said jockey Robert Walford, replacing the injured Andrew Thornton.
Trainer Sean Curran, winner of the Scottish National with Iris De Balme last month, had a much lower-key victory with El Batal in the Cortaflex Novices’ Handicap Chase.
An inspired booking of Felix de Giles made the difference with El Batal (5-2) who was outpaced with a mile to run but snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to deprive Willow Hall and 2-1 favourite Earcomesannie of the spoils approaching the last.
“Every race takes some winning,” said Curran. “This is the first time I’ve used Felix. He came in and said he gave him a bad ride, but he was a lot more confident than I would have been!
“He won at Fontwell but had been disappointing in bits and pieces of form since.”
Another with a fine staying chaser, Simon’s trainer John Spearing, also struck twice.
His 5-2 favourite High Standard and rider Henry Oliver got the verdict by a neck from Ardmaddy in an exciting finish for the Equine America Maiden Hurdle, while the Equine America Claiming Hurdle came rather more easily to L’Oudon (100-30) and Liam Treadwell.
“A good day,” said Spearing. “High Standard will have a break then go chasing, while L’Oudon just needed faster ground.”
Several more good young jockeys made their mark, with some of the bigger names in action elsewhere.
Donal Devereux, who has been building his profile this spring on the veteran hunter chaser Take The Stand, continued his budding relationship with trainer Peter Bowen.
Devereux got a spark out of Gunnabelil (14-1) without a victory from a handful of previous starts, in the Ward Executive 20th Anniversary Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
“I just want to ride as many winners as I can and I think this was just a combination of the fast ground, the three miles and the weight I took off,” said Devereux.
The equally-promising Ryan Mahon, based at Ditcheat with Paul Nicholls, helped Paul Henderson’s Hoof It Harry (11-2) to a 12-length romp in the Cortaflex Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle.
Gardie Grissell’s Brennanstown (6-1) made a winning debut in the Cortaflex Intermediate Open National Hunt Flat Race.
