Russell heaps praise on Gillies
Lucinda Russell was left singing the praises of her conditional jockey Campbell Gillies after the victory of Nelliedonethat at Musselburgh.
Still a 5lb claimer, he is surely worth his weight in gold in open company but up against fellow riders of his ilk his talent stands out a country mile.
His victory on Nelliedonethat (9-4 favourite) in the East Lothian Council Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap chase was the second leg of a double after he made all on Howard Johnson’s Don’t Stop Me Now in the Forth One Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
“It was nice to see him win but Campbell is riding with such confidence at the moment,” said Russell.
“The horse will be no superstar but it will do his confidence good to get his head in front. It’s nice for the yard to get a winner because everybody is working very hard at home.
“Campbell is very cool and he has a very good racing brain, he doesn’t panic, especially in those conditional races where some can be a bit erratic, he shines out.
“Scu (Peter Scudamore) says the technical term is positional riding, that’s what he’s got as he showed on the horse of Howard’s earlier on, he knows where to be in a race.
“He’s very good for the yard, he gives the owners a lot of confidence and he works very hard.”
Don’t Stop Me Now (11-10 favourite) formed part of a double for Johnson, who had revealed earlier in the day that his stable star Inglis Drever was to be given an honourable retirement.
Woody Waller had opened his account for the day on his third start over hurdles.
The four-year-old was running in Johnson’s own silks and sent off the 5-4 favourite to oblige in the first division of the homecomingeastlothian.com Novices’ Hurdle, he could have won by much further than the official seven lengths.
Ridden confidently throughout by Denis O’Regan, re-routed from a frozen-off Huntingdon, he pushed out his mount to beat Strobe and Simple Jim without much fuss.
Johnson and O’Regan nearly struck in the bumper with Alvarado, a half-brother to Character Building, but Noel Wilson’s Hunters Belt (16-1) caught him close home.
Karen McLintock has an above-average type on her hands as Calcutta Cup (11-2) defied a penalty in the second division of the Novices’ Hurdle.
A winner at Catterick last time, Richie McGrath’s mount held on in the face of a stern examination from Ferdy Murphy’s I’m Delilah.
“He needs to be held up but that can be quite hard as he is very keen,” said McLintock.
“He got left in front at the third last and when I saw Ferdy’s horse coming I must admit I thought we’d get beat.
“But he found plenty for pressure and to win with a penalty is really pleasing.
“He barely gets two miles so we’ll be looking for a flat track for him next and he might go handicapping now. I can’t wait to send him over fences though.”
It was a frustrating day for Murphy as his Kilkenny All Star was nailed on the line by Jim Goldie’s Za Beau (8-1) in the Country Refreshments Novices’ Handicap Chase, another for McGrath.
However, Percutant (9-2 favourite) won on his handicap debut in the Country Refreshments Handicap Hurdle under Graham Lee to make sure Murphy did not leave empty-handed.
