3.05pm £45,000 Download
The Ladbrokes App Handicap 1m, Polytrack
The North
Yorkshire-trained Alfred Hutchinson broke the seven-furlong course record when
the decisive winner of the £45,000 Download The Ladbrokes App Handicap at
Lingfield Park today and is now being aimed at the £150,000 Ladbrokes-sponsored
Mile Final at the same course on Good Friday.
Trainer Geoff Oldroyd,
based near Malton, was delighted with the performance of the Monsieur Bond
six-year-old and is likely to give Alfred Hutchinson a break before preparing
him for the Ladbrokes.co.uk All-Weather Mile Championships Conditions Stakes on
April 18.
His charge was smartly
away from the stalls today and raced in third and fourth towards the inside.
Apprentice Robert Tart, gaining his 71st success, asked his mount to challenge
entering the straight and they led with a furlong remaining.
Alfred Hutchinson, an 8/1
chance who is owned by his breeder Reg Bond, went clear and won by a length
from the fast-finishing Brocklebank (50/1), with Verse Of Love (20/1) in third
and top-weight Hawkeyethenoo (11/4 favourite of the 13 runners), who met
trouble in running, fourth.
The new record time for
seven furlongs on Polytrack at Lingfield Park came to 1m 22.09s, bettering the
1m 22.19s set by Red Spell in 2005.
Oldroyd said: "I am
over the moon with this success for Alfred Hutchinson who has done it nicely.
"He is making
progress as he gets older and stronger and this was his third victory from four
runs at Lingfield Park this All-Weather season. He loves the surface there and
the turning track.
"Alfred Hutchinson
also likes to be handy in his races and again Lingfield Park suits that style
of running.
"I am not sure he got
the credit he deserved because there were some fast-finishing horses in the
race but he won easing down and broke the track record.
"He can be keen in
his races and needs a good gallop to get him relaxed which he had today. He
always picks up when there is good pace and was coasting in the closing
stages."
On his previous start,
Alfred Hutchinson was beaten into third by Grey Mirage in a Lingfield Park
Fast-Track Qualifier for the All-Weather Championships Mile Final. Grey Mirage,
due to run in today's race, was withdrawn because of an infection.
Oldroyd felt that Alfred
Hutchinson had not been at his best in the January 11 contest. The trainer
explained: "He took a keen hold as there was no gallop. He was very keen
for five furlongs and had nothing left for the finish.
"We will now target
the Mile Final on Good Friday - he stays a mile well - and it is a question of
whether he runs again beforehand. Monsieur Bonds get better with age and Alfred
Hutchinson was not broken until he was a three-year-old as he was a big, leggy,
weak horse then."
Horses qualify for the six
championship contests on £1-million All-Weather Championships Finals Day (Good
Friday, April 18, 2014) by running in a minimum of three races at Britain's
All-Weather tracks - three owned by ARC, Lingfield Park, Southwell and
Wolverhampton, and The Jockey Club's Kempton Park - between October 26 and
April 12 or else by succeeding in one of the 16 Fast Track Qualifiers.
Alfred Hutchinson winning
at Lingfield Park today
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