BACK FOR MORE AS PREVIOUS COURSE WINNERS HEAD FOR FAKENHAM
Horses cheered to victory at recent Fakenham race meetings return on Friday (Feb 18) to try to earn more rich pickings from the course’s seven-race card.
Feature at 3.25pm is the £20,000 Tim Barclay Memorial Handicap Chase and the Lucy Wadham trained Admiral Barratry, with Bryony Frost booked to ride, is among the five runners, the gelding hoping to repeat his pre-Christmas Fakenham success.
He was fifth at Lingfield in January and can expect competition from Early Du Lemo, trying to defy a seven-pound penalty for victory at Plumpton on Monday.
The grey gelding, trained by Gary Moore with son Joshua in the saddle, won a four-runner contest in Sussex and looks for a quick double.
Bryan Carver rides Foxboro for Robert Walford, that gelding runner-up at Fontwell 11 days ago while another grey, Rose Sea Has, under Sam Twiston-Davies for Dr Richard Newland, has been second on recent runs, at Ffos Las and Chepstow.
At the last Fakenham meeting, nine days ago, Rostello scored for Newland and jockey Cillin Leonard and the same team bid for glory in the 2.20pm Sculthorpe Novice Chase.
Six go in the two-miler and main threat to Rostello may come from Tom Gretton’s Passing Secrets. Lee Edwards takes the ride on the gelding three times second recently, including behind Rostello at Huntingdon.
Largest field is for the opening Holt Selling Hurdle at 1.15pm with nine taking their chance, including Olly Murphy’s Hey Bob, the gelding fourth at Plumpton after earlier winning there.
Likely favourite is The Raven’s Return under Kevin Jones for Charlie Pogson, the nine-year-old a recent Market Rasen runner-up.
Four battle it out at 1.50pm in the Helhoughton Handicap Hurdle in which Wadham and Frost team up with Kempton runner-up Dash For Cash. Main rival is the Gillian Boanas trained Flexi Furlough, Tom Midgley riding the mare who scored at Doncaster in January, while Here Comes Henry, a Fakenham winner on New Year’s Day, returns for trainer Stuart Edmunds.
Richard Spencer’s Peejaybee looks the one in the 2.55pm Novice Hurdle, James Bowen on the February Sandown winner.
Five go in the 4pm William Bulwer-Long Memorial Hunter Chase headed by the David Maxwell owned and ridden Shantou Flyer, trained by Paul Nicholls. The 12-year-old is looking for a ninth chase victory from his 37th start as a boost for the Cheltenham Festival next month.
Four contest the closing 4.35pm bumper with the Martin Keighley trained Spanish Present, under James Best, likely favourite on his first outing since finishing third at Fairyhouse when trained in Ireland by Peter Cashman.
