By Peter Moore at Kempton Park Wednesday 27th March 2024
In form trainer Andrew Balding completed a double at the Surrey track on Wednesday evening, by saddling Imperial Guard to win the opener and Break The Bank.
The drop down to 6f certainly suited Imperial Guard with Daniel Tudhope on board. The three year old novice was always travelling well and went on to win by a length and a half from Sky Wizard.
Balding made it 22 wins for the season when Break The Bank was making his first appearance since 186 days. After being gelded the three year old won well under Joshua Bryan to get the better of Beauty Generation with Neil Callan on board.
Elsewhere, Havanagreattime made a winning debut on the polytrack by winning the 7f handicap for three year olds with Finley Marsh on board for trainer Richard Hughes.
There was a welcome return for jockey James Doyle who was back in the winners enclosure for the first time for a while after the jockey had broken his collarbone.
Having his second ride of the night, Doyle steered the top weight Mount Athos to victory. A three time C&D winner made it a four time winner including taking this race 12 months ago. All four winning times, Doyle has been on board, but he had to fend off the challenge of Sean Levey on Mums Tipple to win by a head.
There was also a very welcome win for local trainer Laura Mongan, who has been going through a barren spell, when Libra Tiger took the last at 8-1 by a short head from Abolish.