On DragonBet Welsh Champion Hurdle weekend it was three days to savour at Chepstow and Ffos Las, with some brilliant results. The Racing Post’s James Stevens reports:
On the big weekend for racing in Wales, it was the Welsh-trained horses who did the talking.
Sunday was the DragonBet Proud Sponsor Of The Welsh Champion Hurdle and Lump Sum delivered as the first two home came from Sam Thomas, an emerging force in the training ranks based just outside the capital.
Lump Sum was sent off 11-10 favourite having been a smart novice last season, notably landing a Grade 2 at Kempton, but he looked to show improvement again when fending off stablemate Steel Ally to join the race’s rich roll of honour.
Victory was also a special one for owner Dai Walters, who had the first two home. He founded Ffos Las racecourse in 2009 and was more eager than ever to win the race as it is set to move back to Chepstow, its original home, next season.
Walters and Thomas were also involved in a helicopter crash in November 2022.
“It’s a shame we had to run both horses really,” Thomas told Sky Sports Racing. “But Mr Walters has a huge association with this place having built it so it’s great. They’re two very nice horses.”
Sunday’s DragonBet-sponsored Welsh Champion Hurdle card also included winners for Pembrokeshire-based Rebecca Curtis, who trained Boston Joe to a 20-length win in the 2m handicap chase with Ben Jones aboard.
Same story
For the last few months the blog has been dominated by the success of the Bowens and it did not stop on the first day of the core season with Flying Fortune winning the Grade 2 Persian War.
It is the first significant race of the jumps season and the five-year-old waltzed to a fourth straight victory in emphatic fashion, powering seven and a half lengths clear.
She has been a star this season for the Peter and Michael Bowen operation with James Bowen aboard for her success. Connections are now eyeing a potential shot at the Cheltenham Festival with Flying Fortune a possible runner in the Mares’ Novice Hurdle.
The Thomas-Johnston combination were also successful on Friday in the second division of the 2m novice hurdle with 20-1 shot Palacio. The six-year-old surged clear to cause quite the surprise on hurdles debut and could be another smart prospect to watch.
The other division was also kept on home soil as Ben Solo won for Curtis and Jones.
Saturday success
Chepstow’s Saturday card was busy with students and Welsh jockey Jack Tudor produced one of the stories of the weekend in the Native River Handicap Chase.
The race, named after the gutsy Gold Cup winner, was won by a horse in the same ownership as Native River as Neon Moon held off some top chasers to strike for David Pipe.
It was a fine ride by Tudor, advertising his talents in the early stage of the season, and he also showed what he can do on the Flat on Friday when winning the Welsh Jump Jockeys’ Derby aboard Pachacuti. He held off weighing room colleague Connor Brace in a tight finish.
