Huntingdon Races

Midfield - headway and in touch with leaders 7th - went third home turn - switched left and challenging 2 out - soon led and drifted right - clear last - kept on well(op 13/2 tchd 11/2)

Held up in last - headway and in touch with leaders 7th - headway on inner when short of room and hampered home turn - good headway approaching last - jumped right and went second last - ridden and ran on run-in - never near to challenge (inquiry held into running and riding; vet said gelding was 1/5 lame on his left-hind; jockey said his instructions were to drop gelding out and ride him cold - as he is a buzzy type which needs to be ridden cold and kept on bridle for as long as possible with a view to mounting his challenge late - which were similar tactics to those employed when he had won over course and distance on 25th November 2023; jockey said that early pace was very strong - and he was content with his position throughout and was making nice headway into race down inner approaching home bend until he was checked in his run and lost several lengths; he added that this resulted in him being further off leaders than was ideal rounding home bend and he was mindful that it would be detrimental to their chances if he placed gelding under maximum pressure too soon and for this reason had nudged and squeezed gelding forward between second last and last hurdles before asking for his finishing effort from back of the last; trainer's rep confirmed instructions and that he had spoken with trainer after the race - stating that he was satisfied with ride given and was of the opinion that considering the interference suffered - jockey had achieved best possible placing under a ride that had accorded with their instructions; their explanations were noted)(tchd 7/2)

Midfield - mistake 2nd - headway and in touch with leaders 7th - went fourth before 2 out - ridden and no extra approaching last - kept on and went third towards finish(op 15/2 tchd 6/1 and tchd 17/2)