Kilbree kid aims to hit six at Perth's Glorious finale

The two-day Glorious Finale meeting which marks the end of Perth's 2018 season starts today with an outstanding '¨seven-race card.
Gordon Elliott has enjoyed remarkable success at Perth. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesGordon Elliott has enjoyed remarkable success at Perth. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Gordon Elliott has enjoyed remarkable success at Perth. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Five-time course winner 
Kilbree Kid is after more success in the feature race, the £30,000 David Whitaker Handicap Chase over three miles at the Scone venue.

Tom George’s Gloucestershire raider faces eight rivals and the trainer said: “He’s been a real star for us over the years and clearly loves going up to Perth. He enjoys decent ground and is still capable - even at the age of eleven. He won this race two years ago and it would be nice to see him do it again.”

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With the going set to be good, good to soft, among the rivals to Kilbree Kid are top-weight Ballyboker Breeze, trained by Nicky Richards, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Double Ross, and Gordon Elliott’s pair Swingbridge and Rightdownthemiddle, ridden by champion jockey Richard Johnson.

Elliott, pictured, has an amazing strike-rate of 28 per cent with his entries at Perth since Arresting supplied him with the very first winner of his career in 2006. Indeed, he has sent out many more winners at the Scone track than he has recorded at all of the other UK courses put together.

He has enjoyed a whopping 164 winners from 585 runners and he has also gone close with 133 seconds. In all, his total Perth prize money haul is an impressive £935,516, so he is 
set to breach the million-pound barrier in the next few meetings.

Rookie Cumbrian trainer Tristan Davidson sends up Justatenner for the Weatherbys Global Stallions App Handicap Hurdle. The bottom-weight was a comfortable winner over course and distance 16 days ago.

Lucinda Russell is also set for a busy afternoon as she has eight runners starting with Derek Fox-ridden Glenpark in the opening Racing UK Extra On racinguk.com Juvenile Maiden Hurdle.

Meanwhile, at Goodwood, Sir Michael Stoute seems to have found a good opening for Gabr to register his first success of the season in the British Stallion Studs EBF Foundation Stakes. The Listed race has attracted a strong seven-runner field, with Mark Johnston’s Threading the best known, having finished second in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

However, her subsequent form has not reached the same level and she appeared unsuited by soft ground last time out.

In contrast, Gabr already has a win to his name with cut in the ground and had the class to finish fifth behind Saxon Warrior and Roaring Lion in a Group One at Doncaster last year at odds of 33-1.

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He pushed Without Parole on his first start this year at Sandown before finishing behind the same rival in the St James’s Palace Stakes when sixth of 10, beaten nearly six lengths. Second next time out in Listed company to Naval Intelligence, he disappointed recently at Pontefract. The way that race was run might not have suited him, though, and he is given one more chance.

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