
By Peter Moore at Plumpton Monday 27th January 2024
It was third time lucky for Plumpton after their previous two meetings were lost to waterlogged and frost. Monday’s Southern Cranes & Access Raceday went ahead after an early morning inspection.
Despite strong winds, six races were on offer with the feature race of the day, The Tysers Handicap Chase run over 3m 1f.
Last year’s winner Morfee was one of six runners going to post.
Approaching the home straight Morfee was well in contention to repeat his feat of twelve months ago.
With the Gary & Josh Moore trained Invincible Nao looming up on the outside, the seven-year-old joined Morfee in the lead
Jumping the last the Moore trained gelding pulled clear to win by 2 ¾ lengths, fully appreciating the drop down in grade.
The opener on the card went to Serious Challenge who took the lead in the 2m 4f maiden hurdle. Approaching the last under Jonathan Burke, the five-year-old gamely held off the challenge of Duffry Trixs to win by two lengths.
Miss Fedora was a comfortable winner of the 2m 1f handicap chase. Never looking likely to get beaten after at one point holding a five length lead which soon became a winning 14 length distance over the gamble of the race Bumpy Evans.
There was a massive shock in the 2m novices hurdle after the 30-100 odds on shot Risk It All somehow was beaten by the 25-1 outsider Dotties Star.
Bottom weight Risk It All was receiving almost a stone from the winner. Despite taking a keen hold early on Risk It All soon showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals by galloping well clear.
Coming up to the last flight it looked like he only had to jump it to win for the first time over hurdles. But credit to the Pat Phelan six-year-old who kept plugging away on the difficult ground to overall Risk It All by 1 ½ lengths under Sean Houlihan. It was the first winner for Phelan over jumps since Hackbridge won at the same track back in 2021.
Co-owner of Risk It All Harry Redknapp was at Plumpton to see his four-year-old, but it wasn’t the result the former England manager was looking for on his first visit to the Sussex track for twenty years.
The highly contested mares handicap hurdle went to the ten-year-old Midnightreflection who cruised to victory after putting 14 lengths between her and second placed Fortuna Ligna. It was also the final time on a racecourse for the mare who will now retire from the sport.
Winning trainer Ben Case said: “We put off retiring her last time when she ran well at Market Rasen. This race came up and it’s worked out perfectly. She’s now off to the paddocks to have babies.”
Unfortunately, the race was marred with the news that the favourite Squiggles snapped a front leg on the final circuit.
Welsh trainer Evan Williams landed the finale of the afternoon after Mount Washington with Conor Ring won the 2m Tysers Handicap Hurdle by 3 ¼ lengths from the Gary & Josh Moore trained Tara Iti.