Emotions were running high after the success of 13-year-old Occasionally Yours in the opening hurdle race at Fakenham on Tuesday.
The country’s oldest trainer, 89-year-old Alan Blackmore of Hertford, along with his wife Pat, was overjoyed after Jack Quinlan had squeezed a tenth career victory from the gelding.
Normally ridden by Tabitha Worsley, who was seriously injured in a fall at the weekend, it was a magical victory for the Blackmores, the 9/4 winner beating two rivals to follow up a recent Huntingdon success.
“This is very special for us. We do everything ourselves with Basil, as we call him at home,” said Mrs Blackmore.
“Basil simply doesn’t accept he is 13. My thoughts go out to Tabitha who usually rides him. I rode him when I was an amateur so it’s lovely to be back on board,” said Quinlan.
Champion jockey Richard Johnson grabbed his 102nd win of the season when7/4 chance Kayfleur won the four-runner three-mile chase. Kayfleur, trained by Henry Daly, looked a likely winner half a mile from home and his chance was boosted when odds-on favourite Maid of Milan crashed out at the open ditch.
Johnson then went on to complete a double both for himself and trainer Olly Murphy when he scored on 7/4 favourite Saucysioux, who responded well to first-time blinkers to run away with the mares’ hurdle, getting the better of pacemaker Broadway Belle.
The three-runner feature was won by Holbrook Park under Trevor Whelan for trainer Neil King. The winner did all the donkey work early on and looked like being caught by favourite Red Hanrahan. But Holbrook Park battled on and in a slow motion finish, won at 7/4.
“It was a hard work, he’s got really tired. He’d been off the course for a long time. But he’s jumped great,” said Whelan.
Amateur rider Lewis Stones produced a storming late dash on the inside rail from Mullaghboy to land the East Rudham hurdle for trainer Murphy. After a slow start the 6/1 winner finished with a real rattle to beat Chilli Romance and disappointing favourite Bardd.
The finale, a two-and-a-half-mile chase, went to Movie Legend, returned the 5/2 joint favourite under Leighton Aspell for Newmarket trainer Lucy Wadham, beating the other joint favourite Bach De Clermont.
There were only 25 runners on the six-race card, something Fakenham chief executive David Hunter found ‘really disappointing’.
“I’ve looked into this, spoken to many trainers and genuinely we cannot put our finger on the reason. But it’s an issue at lots of courses, not just here. It is really disappointing, especially after the last meeting that saw a good turnout and some cracking racing,” he said.
Words by Terry Redhead
NEXT MEETING: Monday, 4th December 2017
FIRST RACE TIME: 1PM
LAST RACE TIME: 3.30PM
GATES OPEN: 11.00AM
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