A fortnight ago Irish horseboxes were heading from Merseyside to Holyhead not just with horses inside them but plenty of prize money too after plundering plenty of the big races at Aintree and on the opening afternoon of the flat season in the North West they were doing the same again.
Although the winning prize of £20,315 is cheaper than what I Am Maximus won in the Grand National, for the Gavin Cromwell trained Earls who bagged the feature 7f handicap on the card, this was a nice scoop under local jockey and Liverpool fan Franny Norton, who is no doubt looking forward to getting some good rides at the upcoming Chester May Meeting.
Earls came here off the back of a good second at the Curragh over a mile a week ago and remains in good heart for a 7yo, he’s a consistent type who clearly still thrives on his racing.
Trainer Karl Burke left the track with a couple of good winners too, first up Princess Alex for the Nick Bradley Racing Syndicate took the 7f handicap for 3yos impressively, making all & she seemed to relish the extra furlong under Pierre-Louis Jamin, not long after that in the 1m 3yo Novice Stakes for Fillies, short priced favourite Shemozzle was turned over by debutant Bright Thunder to land the second part of the double, although still a bit green on the course, she stuck to the task nicely and could be a nice filly to keep an eye on going forward.
It’s always good to see apprentice jockeys win at a major track on a big race day and for Rose Dawes (5), she had a good end to the day when Amancio from Jack Channon’s yard finally got a reward for consistency when picking up the final race of the day, a 3yo handicap over 1m, coming here off the back of a recent third at Windsor, the win saw him shed his maiden tag off 65 and this could be the corner that turns him into a good racehorse.
This might not have been the biggest flat Saturday of Haydock’s year but as usual it was a gentle easing back into the swing of things for those of us who have been consumed by all things tweed and birch over the past six months or so!
Wattyspots.
Two stand out for the first of the season and both came in the same race, the opening 1m Maiden with the 3yos from David O’Meara trained UNIQUE SPIRIT and the Richard Fahey trained DUBAI FIRST who came second and third respectively.
Both were making their racecourse debuts and both shared a bit of good promise as they chased home the favourite, the 81 rated winner Candonomore of Tim Easterby’s.
They will most definitely be winning races sooner rather than later and are two to stick in the tracker.
Words & Pictures – Neil Watson
Arseonlineracing Publication – Published : April 2024
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