Uttoxeter Review and Results: Dan and Harry Skelton among the winners

Skelton sent out Santos Blue to win the JenningsBet 200 Shops Nationwide Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles last season having seen Hitching Jacking miss out by a neck in 2023.

Hitching Jacking ran in the colours of the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate whose silks were worn by Harry Skelton aboard Hidden History who was making his debut for the stable after being switched from Chris Gordon's yard.

Hidden History saw plenty of daylight throughout but a mistake three from home left him with worth to do with second favourite Wellington Arch travelling strongly in front for Jonjo O'Neill Jr. Skelton was quick to give Hidden History the office and his mount responded generously, quickly making up the ground on Wellington Arch who began to tire having perhaps done too much too soon.

Wellington Arch did try to rally and Hidden History appeared to idle but under strong driving from his jockey, Hidden History kept up to his work to win by three and a quarter lengths.

Blenkinsop finished well for third, passing Below The Radar close home.

ITV Racing spoke to the winning jockey who said: "We hadn't known a whole great deal about him but he'd done everything nicely at home. He obviously stays quite nicely and I rode him there to come home well and that's what he did."

Skelton is making the running in the inaugural David Power Jockeys' Cup for which the winner will take home £500,000; when told that he was now 90 points clear, he replied: "I don't think I'm 90, I think Cobden finished fourth so I'm 86.

"I'll make it tough for him and we've just got to keep going now. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and we'll give it everything. I didn't even take GCSE maths but in the last three weeks I've got quite good at it!"

Risk reward

Harry Cobden struck back at the first opportunity in the JenningsBet Handicap Hurdle over an extended two miles seven furlongs when persuading Red Risk (22/1) to get back up to deny Skelton and the well backed 3/1 favourite Joyeux Machin in a driving finish.

Skelton and Cobden again charted wide passages while O'Neill Jr and Red Dirt Road took the field along but it was all change by the time they entered the home straight for the last time.

The smooth travelling Red Risk and the driven Joyeux Machin were alongside at the second last as Phantomofthepoints weakened but a better leap from Joyeux Machin took him to the front.

He appeared to have done enough but Joyeux Machin didn't appear to do a great deal in front while Cobden was persuading Red Risk - who hadn't won in 10 starts going back to November 2022 - to have another bite.

Patriotik, Blaze The Way and Samuel Spade were all making ground from off the pace but they ran out of ground as Red Risk collared his rival on the line to deny the Skelton brothers a quickfire double by a neck.

Cobden said of the Paul Nicholls-trained Red Risk: "We got racing a little soon in the straight and he probably had his run a bit early and then got a second wind and went after Harry and got him after the last.

"He's very tough, an old horse like him knows where the winning line is.

"When you ride a horse like him, there's no instructions. Go out and ride him to run well, he was a big price today and it's very easy when you've got a horse that knows his way around, you can place him wherever you want."

Round-up of the rest of the card

Evan Williams had hit the frame with Patriotik but went two places better when Minella Blueway (13/2) and Adam Wedge got the better of a good battle with Eyed in the JenningsBet Novices' Handicap Chase.

Eyed was backed into favouritism and it appeared as though his supporters were going to collect only for Wedge to conjure another run out of Minella Blueway with his mount going on to win by half a length.

The pair finished 18 lengths ahead of Isaac Des Obeaux in third.

The novices' hurdle saw another good finish between The Jukebox Kid (4/1) and Royal Rambler who finished clear of a good yardstick in I'm A Lumberjack.

The Jukebox Kid was making his debut for Ben Pauling and had most of the field struggling down the home straight but he was joined by the more experienced Royal Rambler who made him pull out all the stops in winning by three quarters of a length.

The Jukebox Kid was completing an across-the-cards double for Pauling who had saddled Bad to win at Kempton in another exciting finish.

Winning rider David Bass said: "I've ridden him a lot at home. I said to Ben 'it feels like he wants three miles already' but he told me he'd wake up on the racecourse.

"He jumps like a quicker horse. He's a racehorse. When the other one came to him he picked up again and he's still plenty green enough so loads of improvement. Ben said all along there's something about this horse, he just knew he was a racehorse."

Charlie Deutsch and Venetia Williams had to settle for second in the Midlands Grand National but they went one better in the penultimate race on the card when Deutsch produced Intimate (4/1) with a well-timed run to sweep past Sageburg County.

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