Famous first for Foster
George Foster celebrated a notable success at Musselburgh as Bourse claimed victory in the Betty Joyce Handicap.
Foster trains just four miles away at Cousland, near Dalkeith, and the 14-1 chance, ridden by Greg Fairley, was giving him his first triumph at his local course.
Bourse was also having his first outing for Foster, who said: “I have had 15 runners here and it is great to have a winner. The horse came to me about six weeks ago and he has done it well.”
Kevin Ryan crowned another successful campaign when Peter’s Gift gave him his 100th success of the year in the EBF/Cornhill Building Services Ltd Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.
The 4-6 favourite, running for the fifth time, made all the running under Paul Mulrennan in the seven-furlong test and well in command at the quarter-mile marker she ran right to the line to score by two and three-quarter lengths from Challenging.
Ryan said: “We had 106 winners in the calendar year in 2007 so perhaps we might beat that by the end of December, we will have a few to run on the all-weather but we won’t really get going again until January.
“It has been a great year all round, we have had six or seven Listed or Group winners and I suppose the highlight would be Madame Trop Vite winning the Group Two Flying Childers at Doncaster.
“Peter’s Gift did it really well and she will be a nice filly for next year.”
Ryan would have perhaps been happy to have reached the landmark earlier in the afternoon with Grimes Faith as he was ridden by his daughter Amy but he was beaten into second place by Tenancy in the Independent Dental Practitioners Amateur Riders’ Handicap.
The Malton trainer went on: “It would have been nice if Amy had won on Grimes Faith, but she has ridden six winners this season and I am proud of what she has done – it has given me great pleasure watching her.”
Ciaran Harris took a day off from his college work and made the most of it as he gained his first success under Rules on Richard Guest’s 33-1 chance Tenancy.
Harris’s father Shaun is Guest’s landlord at Worksop and the former said: “We have been in the doldrums recently so hopefully this means we have turned the corner – and we all had a bit on!”
His son said: “I am studying for a sports degree at Doon Valley College but I decided to take a day off because we thought Tenancy had a chance. That is my 15th ride and it is nice to get off the mark.”
Bryan Smart has been having a fine run with his two-year-olds and Kiwi Moon became his 26th individual juvenile winner when opening his account in good style under Tom Eaves in the EBF/Redman Fisher Maiden Stakes.
Smart said: “I think there is a lot to look forward to with him next year.”
Karl Burke’s Roker Park got off the mark at the third attempt this season in the hands of Jamie Moriarty in the Edinburgh Evening News Handicap, while Alan Berry’s Grissom (20-1) came out best under Paul Quinn in the Alexander (Stirling) & Co Steelmasters Nursery.
Willie Muir made it two winners from four runners at the course in the past five years when Nemo Spirit delivered the goods in the Willie Park Trophy Handicap.
