5/6 favourite shows lot of bottle to win £15,000 feature race at Kelso

The eight-year-old bay gelding lived up to his name by offering cause for popping of Champagne corks by winning the meeting’s £15,000 feature race, the 4.30pm Bedmax Handicap Chase, for owner Debs Thomson under the guise of Two Black Labs, a nod to her pet dogs Dom and Louis.

The 5/6 favourite, trained by Lucinda Russell in Perth and Kinross and ridden by Patrick Wadge, won that two-mile-one-furlong race by half a length from Kelso trainer Sandy Thomson’s Cedar Hill, with his son-in-law Ryan Mania as jockey.

Cracking Destiny, trained by Hawick’s Ewan Whillans and ridden by Sean Quinlan, was third out of five runners and Yetholm handler Sandy Forster’s Duty Calls, with Cumbrian Conor O’Farrell riding, was fourth.

Russell, this year’s Merseyside Grand National winner with Corach Rambler, said: “He loves it here and he has done so much better since he went back over fences.

“The two black labs, Dom and Louis, were here to collect the prize and the track made a big fuss of them.”

That was Bollingerandkrug’s fourth win, the other three having been at Kelso too – in March this year, April 2021 and December 2020.

Domandlouis, referencing the aforesaid labradors was also in action for Russell, Wadge and owner Thomson, formerly of Cessford, near Morebattle, but now living in East Lothian, but fared less well, finishing fourth in the day’s opener, the 1.40pm Racing TV Handicap Chase, as 7/4 favourite.

That two-mile-seven-furlong race’s £5,281 top prize was won by former Hawick trainer Iain Jardine, now based in Dumfries and Galloway, with Exit to Where, ridden by O’Farrell, at 8/1.

“This race was the plan since he was fifth here last November and he had his ground today,” said owner Ray Green.

“Conor kept him wide and gave him a lovely ride.”

Hawick trainer Robson’s Just Don’t Know was second in that race by half a length at 11/2, with Danny McMenamin riding.

Former jockey Robson and McMenamin were also runners-up with 50/1 outsider Breizh River in the concluding 5.35pm Watch Again on Racing TV Open National Hunt Flat Race, won by Northumbrian trainer Rose Dobbin’s St Cuthbert’s Cave at 20/1, with Dylan Johnston in the saddle.

Selkirk trainer Coltherd and his jockey son Sam also took a runners-up spot, with 5/12 favourite Jimmy Rabbitte in the 4pm RBC Brewin Dolphin Handicap Hurdle, won by Farne Island, trained in Northumberland by Adam Nicol and with O’Farrell riding.

The day’s other winners were Hoganville in the 2.15pm Aitken Turnbull Architects Handicap Hurdle, trained by George Bewley, formerly of Bonchester Bridge but now based in Cumbria, and ridden by his son Jonathon; Ballyporeen in the 2.50pm Bruce Stevenson Insurance Brokers’ Novice Hurdle, trained by Merseyside’s Donald McCain and with Brian Hughes in the saddle; Balkalin in the 3.25pm RBC Brewin Dolphin Handicap Hurdle for Cumbria’s Maurice Barnes, with Conor Rabbitt riding; and Time Leader in the 5.02pm Racing Together Novices’ Hunters’ Chase for Gloucestershire’s John O’Shea, with Huw Edwards as jockey.

Kelso’s next meeting is its season finale ladies’ day on Sunday, May 28.

There’ll be seven races starting at 2.30pm and concluding at 5.45pm.

Entry is £30 in advance or £35 on the day. For details, go to www.kelso-races.co.uk