Jewson St Helens Old Roan Chase
Limited Handicap, Aintree 14:40
£80,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
2m 3f 200y, Class 1   
Sunday 23rd October 2022

1 Riders Onthe Storm 16/1
2 Hitman 10/3
3 Ga Law 11/1
8 ran Distances: hd, 1¼l, 1¾l
Time: 4m 57.36s (slow by 5.36s)

Trained by Richard Hobson and ridden by champion jockey Brian Hughes, the nine-year-old Riders Onthe Storm was without success since landing Grade One honours at Ascot in February 2020, but rolled back the years at Aintree with a tenacious effort to deny Paul Nicholls' Hitman by a head.

Third went to the returning Ga Law who was having his first run for 603 days, while the 5/2 market leader Do Your Job was disappointing in sixth after making a bad mistake on the second circuit. Meanwhile, Millers Bank didn't get past the very first fence where he unseated jockey Kielan Woods.

The winner was having just his fifth start for the Hobson yard having previously been trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Hughes said: “I rode him once before, in a novice handicap at Cheltenham for Tom Taaffe, and I remember walking away that day thinking we’d left one behind.

“That day I buried him and he was very keen and didn’t jump and fell early, so today I was very keen to get him his own space and let him use his jumping. He was very good, to be fair to him.

“If anything I was in front a bit soon as he was having a good look around, but he picked up when the second horse came to him.”

FormRatings

Hobson said: “We were in the doldrums all last season with him. His first run was good, but he got injured in Cheltenham and the horses then got sick in the yard and remained sick all the way through until April really.

“The break and the turning out and bringing him back in nice and fresh has done him the world of good, obviously he’s plummeted down the handicap a little bit and he was given a fantastic ride.

“He came in on August 1 and really hasn’t missed a day – his preparation has gone extremely well.”

He added: “It’s been an early start as we were working horses this morning – it never ends. We’re going to celebrate this one, definitely.

“Brian said ‘keep him fresh’ and I think that’s the key to him. If we keep fresh and just keep our powder dry and run him a few times a season, that’s probably the way to go.”

FormRatings

Monet's Garden Old Roan Chase (Limited Handicap)
£80,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 200y, Class 1
8 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Good in places

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     Riders Onthe Storm 9 10-6 Richard Hobson Brian Hughes 16/1
2 hd Hitman 6 11-12 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 100/30
3 1¼ Ga Law 6 10-9 Jamie Snowden Jonathan Burke 11/1
4 1¾ Beakstown 9 10-6 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 14/1
5 12 Soldier Of Destiny 6 10-6 Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan 6/1
6 5½ Do Your Job 8 10-13 Michael Scudamore Luca Morgan 5/2F
7 3 Captain Tom Cat 7 10-12 Dr Richard Newland Sam Twiston-Davies 14/1
UR Millers Bank 8 11-6 Alex Hales Kielan Woods 9/2

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