COTSWOLD horse Ballybolley’s Aintree return helped him break his seasonal duck in the Betfred “Fun & Friendly” Novices’ Hurdle.
A Grade Two bumper winner at the Grand National meet, his hurdling career began poorly at Perth but he shaped better at Cheltenham.
Jockey Daryl Jacob rode the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained five-year-old (6-4 favourite) to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths at Aintree.
“That was nicely done. We’ll keep him low-key and hopefully win with a penalty,” said Naunton’s Twiston-Davies. “He obviously likes it here, but the problem is there isn’t another meeting until April!”
Ladbrokes World Hurdle hero More Of That, trained by Jonjo O’Neill in Temple Guiting, is to have a wind operation after struggling at Newbury last month. Merry King will have a similar operation with the Grand National in mind.
O’Neill’s Cheltenham Gold Cup candidate Holywell unseated jockey Richie McLernon at Aintree but came through unscathed.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here