Ayr raid pays off for champion jockey

Richard Johnson made the long trip north to Ayr pay off yesterday when he rode a treble at the track.
By Iain Ferguson
Published 27th Oct 2015, 00:00 BST
Richard Johnson in action. Picture: PARichard Johnson in action. Picture: PA
Richard Johnson in action. Picture: PA

The horse which set the ball rolling the champion jockey-elect – Destiny Awaits, the 11/4 winner of Division 11 of the Happy Birthday Allie Handicap Hurdle over three miles – gave Lanarkshire-based Keith 
Pollock his first-ever winner.

Pollock, who owns a chain of hairdressing salons in Lanarkshire, is a former stable boy with the late Henry Cecil and trains three horses from his yard in the village of Braidwood outside Carluke.

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After his win, Pocock said : “I think a lot of this horse and he did it well. I got the bug for getting back into racing when my daughter got a pony and I looked after it for her.”

Johnson’s second win came on Jack Steel for trainer Lucinda Russell.

Sent off the 5/4 favourite for the feature race, the handicap chase, the horse always looked to be travelling well and won by five lengths from Retrieve The Stick.

Fagan was win No 3 for Johnson landing the national hunt flat race by half a length from Meet the Legend.

Other winners on the day included the Nicky Richards- trained Imada in the two-mile novice hurdle and Love The Leader, trained by Johnny Farrelly and ridden by young Irish amateur David Noonan in Division 1 of the Happy Birthday Allie Handicap Hurdle.

Meanwhile, John Gosden has bigger fish to fry this week when Golden Horn aims to cap a memorable season at the Breeders’ Cup but Von Blucher can keep the wheels turning in the ebfstallions.com Maiden Stakes at Lingfield, writes Glendale.

Sadie Babes is also worth chancing with in the catterickbridge.co.uk Novice Stakes after a promising debut when second to Furiant.

SELECTIONS

BANGOR

1.55 Norse Light

2.30 Kingfisher Creek

3.00 Two Taffs

3.30 Gee Hi

4.00 Harry Hunt

4.30 Kit Casey

CATTERICK

12.40 Sadie Babes

1.10 Card High

1.40 Pea Shooter

2.15 Boots And Spurs

2.50 Rayadour

3.20 Suprise Vendor

3.50 Pavers Star

4.20 Eland Ally

LINGFIELD

1.00 Arab Poet

1.30 Von Blucher (nap)

2.05 Al’s Memory

2.40 Lady Rocka

3.10 Naizah

3.40 Zubaidah

4.10 Activation

WOLVERHAMPTON

4.40 Sublimation

5.10 Zain Time

5.40 Rock Steady

6.10 Berlusca

6.40 Important Point

7.10 Forgiving Glance

7.40 We Are Ninety

DOUBLE

Von Blucher

1.30 Lingfield

Sadie Babes

12.40 Catterick