Murphy continues dream start to training career

THE fairytale start to rookie trainer Olly Murphy’s career continued on Sunday when the Wilmcote-based handler sent out four winners during the afternoon, including three at Stratford’s Ladies Day, writes David Hucker.

Persistent rain over the weekend had got into the ground, with the going officially described as good to soft, with a few soft places.

With trainers having declared their horses to run expecting the faster conditions normally encountered during the summer jumps season, there were two absentees in the opening Shakespeare Media Novices’ Hurdle, including Dan Skelton’s Mister Universum, who would have been vying for favouritism with Champagne City.

Trainer Tom George and jockey Adrian Heskin have a 43 per cent strike rate at Stratford and Champagne City was a short price to complete a hat-trick, having opened his account at Kelso in May before winning over the course last month.

Despite being hampered when two horses slipped up before the third-last flight, he had no trouble in seeing off the challenge of Kalanisi Glen, although his starting price of 2-5 wouldn’t have been attractive to many in the large Ladies Day crowd.

For George, this was a sixth success at the course this year, as he tries to narrow the gap on leader Skelton in the race to be top Stratford trainer for 2017.

Murphy has made a cracking start to his training career, with three winners from just seven runners over jumps at the start of the day.

He increased his tally when Knight Commander, formerly trained by his mother Anabel, took the opening race at the day’s other jumps meeting at Newton Abbot.

Buble had been an impressive winner of his last race at the Devon track on faster ground and, dropped into selling class, was made the 5-4 favourite to follow up in the Touch FM Selling Hurdle.

He faced stiff competition from Cliffside Park, who was making his debut for Murphy, having moved from Ireland where he won a maiden hurdle at Clonmel back in October 2015.

Cliffside Park became another for this fledging stable when leading before the last flight and putting 22 lengths between himself and the disappointing Buble, who could only stay on at one pace.

In the absence of likely favourite Definite Future, it was Red Riverman and CapeCaster who headed the market for the feature £20,000 Russell Lane Jewellers Handicap Chase, going off the 13-8 joint favourites.

Red Riverman had returned after a long lay-off to finish second, beaten just half a length, at Cartmel from a handicap mark of 111 and built on that run nine days later at Uttoxeter when beating Solar Impulse by five lengths.

He had been raised 6lbs for that success, but stepped up again, leading at the eighth fence and seeing off the challenge of Cape Caster by one and a half lengths.

Miss Mobot ran a blinder on her seasonal reappearance at Newton Abbot, belying her odds of 20-1 to finish runner-up to Lillian, whom she met on 3lb better terms in the Stuart Stanley Retro Rebel Handicap Hurdle.

But, the two finished in the same order again, as Lillian, who had been prominent throughout, was ridden out from the last flight by Kevin Jones to score by three and a half lengths.

Skilled had finished runner-up to Bestwork at Uttoxeter on his debut for Murphy and, with the winner franking the form when scoring again under 12-0 here the week before, looked to be in with a real chance of taking the Ardencote Novices’ Handicap Chase, despite being raised 2lbs for that effort.

Despite a couple of mistakes along the way, Skilled took up the running from Miami Present at the last fence and ran on resolutely for Ian Popham.

Dan Skelton has been in relentless form since the season started at the beginning of May and had landed two winners from his five runners at Market Rasen the day before to take his tally to 43, at a strike rate of 30 per cent.

Importantly, with the trainers’ championship being determined by prize money, rather than winners, Saturday’s haul had seen Skelton pass the £300,000 mark, a remarkable achievement at this time of the year.

He had hopes of adding to his record in the Debenhams Novices’ Handicap Hurdle with Wynford, who made a successful debut for the stable when winning at Uttoxeter from a rating of 97.

The handicapper hadn’t let Wynford off lightly for that win, however, raising him to a new mark of 112 and he couldn’t cope with Mizen Master, who brought up the Murphy treble and complete a riding double on the afternoon for Charlie Poste.

There was not much form to go on in the concluding Visit racinguk.com Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race and it was racecourse debutante Secret Escape, the choice from two entries by Cheshire trainer Donald McCain, who came out on top.