Harriet Graham made a good start to a busy week with a double at Kelso yesterday.
Graham combines training at her yard near Jedburgh with acting as clerk of the course at both Perth and Musselburgh and she saw her stable stalwart win the Hunter Real Estate Investment Managers Handicap Chase.
Scotswell had led for most of the way but then came under pressure from jockey Danny Cook jumping the second-last fence. However, Scotswell, a homebred, battled on most gamely on the run-in to beat Nakadam by three and a quarter lengths, his tenth victory on his 60th start for Graham.
Graham, who also won the conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle with Sudski Star, will now switch her attentions to Musselburgh which stages Scotland’s first Flat meeting of the season on Saturday, headed by the £100,000 totepool Queen's Cup.
Lucinda Russell had paraded One For Arthur before racing as the celebrations continued from their victory in the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday. Unfortunately Russell drew a blank with her runners, which means waiting until Haydock on Saturday for the next chance of a 600th career winner.
However, that was not enough to dampen the mood of stable jockey Derek Fox who was still revelling in a National-winning ride that had appeared unlikely when the jockey broke a wrist and dislocated a collarbone in a fall at Carlisle just a month ago.
Having celebrated long into Saturday night on Merseyside, Fox missed much of One For Arthur's homecoming on Sunday and admitted that he is still coming to terms with the magnitude of his success. "I stayed in Aintree on Saturday with the owners and had a great night. I went back home Sunday morning, but I was late enough getting up, so I missed most of the press day back in the yard,” he said.
"I had a bit of a sore head and because I had to do 10st at Kelso, I couldn't even have much to eat.”
Reflecting on a ride that has drawn plaudits for the coolheaded way in which Fox brought One For Arthur into the race to lead from the last fence, he added: "I kind of had an idea going out that we'd be far enough back. He's the type of horse that warms into a race – that's just his style of running – so I was half prepared for it.
"I couldn't believe how fast the first circuit went in my head. We seemed to get round so quick and then when we jumped the water we were rolling. His jumping was second to none on the day. I was making lengths at every fence and once we started to pass one or two he was really enjoying it.
"It was a bit of a surreal feeling. It felt like we were accelerating, which you couldn't believe at the end of a four-mile race. I was starting to get excited at that stage, but you have to try and keep a level head and stay cool, which isn't as easy as it sounds.
"He jumped a shade to the left at the second-last and we had a bit of a collision with Blaklion, so that was a brief scare, but it didn't slow him down and he's done it very well in the end.
"I think he showed a lot of class on the day as we were worried enough whether he'd have enough pace on the drying ground."
Al Wukair, trained by André Fabre, emerged as a major contender for the Qipco 2000 Guineas after winning the Prix Djebel at Maisons-Laffitte.
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