Carlisle Sunday review: Reports, reaction and free video replays including Iron Bridge

Unbeaten Bridge looks fine prospect for O'Neill

Iron Bridge (7/2 favourite) marked himself out as a staying chaser to follow courtesy of an impressive chasing debut at Carlisle in the iconic yellow and green quartered colours of the late Trevor Hemmings.

The field for the Gordon Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase over two and a half miles looked to be a strong one on paper, but Jonjo O’Neill’s charge soon had matters under control, soon pulling clear after joining the Ben Pauling-trained Harper’s Brook at the final fence and going on to score by eight and a half lengths.

The son of Milan is now unbeaten in four starts and the winning jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jnr feels that his charge will come on leaps and bounds for today’s first outing over the bigger obstacles.

He said: “He is a nice horse and we didn’t really know what we had as he’d only won two novice hurdles coming into this. He had a little setback and we’ve given him plenty of time to mature and he’s probably got a good way to go yet but it was a nice performance.

“He’s got a nice temperament. He’s a three-miler all day long but he’s got a touch of class for a two and a half miler and he just needed a school round really. It’s a lovely track to do that at.

“There wasn’t really a plan to be honest so I just wanted to sit in behind the leaders. He’s been very good at home but he dived into the first and he was a bit sticky over a few down the side so I decided to just school him round to start with. It was his first start over fences so we just wanted to give him a nice run round."

Mick Meagher, who is the racing manager for the Hemmings family, added: "He’s a grand horse and he won his point to point bumper on this sort of ground, so we weren’t worried about the conditions. He’s novicey but he’s done it grand.

“He’ll stay further in time but I’ll leave that to the trainer, he’s a fair way to go yet and we’re not making any wild predictions at this stage, but he’s on the right track."

Wor on verge of course hat-trick

The supporting card at Carlisle on Colin Parker Day is an excellent one and included the Visit racingtv.com Handicap Hurdle over two miles and a furlong, which was turned into something of a procession by the Susan Corbett-trained Wor Verge (7/2).

The nine year old was victorious in dryer conditions over this course and distance last month and he revelled in the conditions here for a six and a half-length victory – much to the surprise of his trainer.

She said: “We weren’t very sure about the ground because last season we worked out that he prefers good ground and then he came here today and it was heavy and we thought ‘oh dear!’.

“He’s a bit quirky too because in the past he’s flicked his ears when he’s got to the front too soon and lost a race at Hexham doing that. Today he’s just toddled away and we think the key is to settle him because when he was a younger horse he used to be a bit of a handful, but it was a perfect ride from Nathan (Moscrop) again.

“We’ve got nothing marked out but this was quite a hard race – even though he made it look easy – but we’ll give him a little break and we’ll certainly be looking at the final of this series.”

Wor Verge was a deserved winner of the ‘best turned out’ award before racing, featuring a poppy on his tail which was in immaculate condition despite the wet ground on track.

And Corbett, who is based at Otterburn in Northumberland, was full of praise for her team.

She added: “Emma Tully came to us as a student and she’s got her NVQ and she’s always winning the best turned out prizes. Her attention to detail is absolutely marvellous and she loves what she does – she always does an amazing job. We won the Lycetts Team Champion Award this year, which for a small northern yard was something I’m really proud of.”

Rest of the action...

The opening race was the Join Racing TV Now Novices' Hurdle over two and a half miles, which saw Grove Road (13/2) make a winning hurdling debut for the Archie Watson team.

It was a performance which pleased winning jockey Adam Wedge, who feels his charge could have a bright future. He said: “He’s kept galloping very well and after his Sedgefield bumper win I thought this place would suit him a lot more and he’s gone and proved that today.

“He’s a big galloper and he wants a test for sure, but I’ll leave plans up to Archie. He gave me a lovely feel and being 2-2 under Rules is hard to do, so I’m very pleased.”

Nicky Richards feels he has a nice staying prospect on his hands in the form of Houston Texas (3/1 favourite), who made the most of difficult conditions to complete a hat-trick in good style.

The eight year old enjoyed a good campaign last year, winning back-to-back staying handicaps here in February and he showed that stamina was very much his game when hitting the front in the penultimate Dowson Blades Cumberland Handicap Chase over three and a quarter miles – staying on well after jumping the last in front.

It was a performance which delighted his trainer, who feels he could be a nice prospect for next year’s Eider Chase at Newcastle. He said: “He’s going in the right direction, he stays and he jumps and he’s a proper staying chaser. They didn’t go as quick as Sean (Quinlan) thought they might but he’s galloped in a grand old manner.

“He looks a nice horse and the long-term plan might be something like the Eider Chase at Newcastle. He’d gallop all day and I’d hope it is nice and Soft come Eider Day, because sometimes it doesn’t.

“He could be a National horse one day, but it would need to come soft for him mind. We’ll probably pop him back over hurdles at some stage but he’s a nice prospect.”

There were several impressive performances on the day, including from the Sam Thomas-trained Good Risk At All (2/1), who took the notable scalp of three-time Grade Two winner Wholestone with a decisive success in the DMB Building Ltd Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles.

The six year old was hugely progressive as a novice last term, signing off with a creditable sixth in the Grade One Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree in April, and winning jockey Sam Twiston-Davies feels he could have a strong campaign ahead of him.

He said: “I’m happy with that, he’s got a very high cruising speed and they went very steady so he was keen early. I’d hope in a faster-run race you’d see better of him again, but it’s nice to get another win and hopefully he can keep progressing.

“He was a sharp horse in bumpers and was very straightforward to ride. He has lots of natural pace and even on ground like that it was smooth and easy for him because he deals with it well. You’d think he’d be handy for those two and a half mile handicaps because he’ll take you round as he’s got a comfortable cruising speed – so hopefully some nice days ahead."

The closing race was the Every Race Live On Racing TV Open National Hunt Flat Race over two miles and a furlong, which was won in good style by the Mark Walford-trained Perculator (7/1).

The five year old was having her second start for Walford since switching from the Fergal O’Brien yard and she built on a promising first start for her new trainer at Hexham earlier this month with an authoritative display.

And the winning jockey Jamie Hamilton revealed after the race that the daughter of Telescope was likely to go over hurdles sooner rather than later. He said: “That was very good and she ran really well at Hexham last time, when a bit of greenness perhaps caught her out on the day.

"I had to commit sooner than I wanted to today, but I was adamant to get that stand-side rail as it’s a huge advantage. She stuck her head out and grinded it out well in the end.

"She was going to go for a mares’ hurdle but it was a good bit of placing by the trainer, who felt this race was cutting up a bit. She’ll go over hurdles soon and she’ll give us a bit of fun."

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