Totesport.com Towton Novices’ Chase |
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| Grade 2 Handicap, Wetherby 14:40 £35,000 added, 5yo plus, 3m 45y, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 3rd February 2018 | |
1 Ballyoptic 5/2JF
2 Vintage Clouds 5/2JF
3 Shades Of Midnight 9/1
6 ran Distances: 2¾l, 7l, 27l
Time: 6m 52.40s (slow by 55.40s)
Ballyoptic grinds out victory from Vintage Clouds
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Sent off the 5-2 joint-favourite, despite conceding a penalty, he was given an extremely patient ride by Tom Bellamy.
Vintage Clouds set the pace after the departure of Pearl Royale and led into the straight, but Shades Of Midnight, the outsider of the field, shot clear two out.
Approaching the last, though, his effort began to peter out and Ballyoptic jumped to the front, holding off Vintage Clouds by two and three-quarter lengths.
It was a third victory in the race for Nigel Twiston-Davies after Ollie Magern and Blaklion.
Bellamy, who was in the headlines for the wrong reasons at Cheltenham on New Year's Day when stood down for failing a breath test, said: "He was brilliant, very professional.
"To be fair, he was the best of these over hurdles but he hadn't shown that form the last twice.
"I felt they went quick enough up front in the ground, so I was happy to bide my time.
"Hopefully this will kick-start my career now, that's my second Grade Two and it won't do me any harm."
Totesport.com Towton Novices' Chase (Grade 2)
£35,000 added, 5yo plus, 3m 45y, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Heavy
| Pos | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ballyoptic (IRE) 5/2j | Thomas Bellamy 11-3 |
N A Twiston-Davies | 8 | |
| 2nd | 2¾ | Vintage Clouds (IRE) 5/2j | Danny Cook 11-0 |
Mrs S J Smith | 8 |
| 3rd | 7 | Shades Of Midnight 9/1 | Harry Bannister 11-0 |
A M Thomson | 8 |
| 4th | 27 | Captain Chaos (IRE) 4/1 | Harry Skelton 11-0 |
D Skelton | 7 |
| PU | Ami Desbois (FR) 8/1 | Kielan Woods 11-0 |
G McPherson | 8 | |
| F | Pearl Royale (IRE) 6/1 | Tom Cannon 10-7 |
N J Hawke | 6 |
