Race Report - Monday 28th September

By David Hucker

Cotswold trainers Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies were in double-winning form at Newton Abbot, scoring with Scott's Legacy and Bits Ballou, on an afternoon when results went the way of the bookies with all six favourites beaten.

Depalma, a winner over hurdles at the last meeting, was odds-on favourite to follow up for leading trainer Dan Skelton in the opening £15,000 Celebrating Devon Women In Business Handicap Chase over three and a quarter miles. Running in this race in preference to a later hurdle, Depalma headed the market from Limerick Leader, a winner of two races since joining trainer Nick Scholfield this season.

It was Limerick Leader who set out to make the running, but Depalma had joined him by the penultimate fence, only to fluff his lines and allow the leader to regain the advantage which he held  on the run-in to give Lambourn-based Scholfield his 14th winner of the season.

There was an even shorter priced favourite in the Jodie Standing's Point-To-Point Recruits Novices' Hurdle in the shape of Matiwo who went off at 2/7. Trained by Jane Williams, Matiwo was an easy winner of a junior bumper at Newbury in January, but was well-beaten in a valuable hurdle race at Compiegne last time.

He faced a much easier task here, but found Southwell bumper winner Scott's Legacy looming large as they approached the second-last flight and had no answer as the second-favourite went clear to win on his hurdling debut in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies.

There was another £15,000 in the prize fund for the Shelley Coles - Setting The Pace At 60 Novices' Limited Handicap Chase in which Dorset trainer Anthony Honeyball saddled both Gore Point and Juggernaut. In a close betting heat, Juggernaut was just preferred to Inside Man and Minella Jury, with Gore Point, ridden for the first time by Harry Cobden, the 5/1 outsider of the party.

After clocking up three course wins in a row, Gore Point was well beaten by Breaking Cover last time, but he showed that run to be all wrong, defying top weight to go clear of Minella Jury between the final two fences and put in a good leap at the last to win comfortably by 4½ lengths.

With Berry Edge a non-runner, it was top-weight Saint Polo, who ran up a hat-trick of wins over hurdles before being beaten over fences when third to Juggernaut last time, who headed the market in the Final Furlong Before "I Do" Selling Handicap Hurdle. Favourite backers lost out again as Saucats, who beat Kittys Glance over the course in July, came out on top, taking over the lead from Saint Polo at the penultimate flight and running on stoutly to beat outsider Princess Of Ballea.

Kittys Glance was one of four to contest the following Paul Ferguson's Jumpers To Follow Handicap Hurdle over two miles, five and a half furlongs, in which Kilnew Supreme was favourite to land his first win after being runner-up three times. Kilnew Supreme was to finish second again, as Kittys Glance headed him with two flights to jump and sprinted away to win easily by 6½ lengths.

Bits Ballou had finished second to Jack's Jury over the course in June and she went one better in the closing Par Inn Bulpin Cup Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle when, ridden by Lucas Murphy, she finished strongly to get the better of French Diablo in a tight finish.