Impek strikes for Mate team
Impek gained a poignant victory for owner Jim Lewis and trainer Henrietta Knight in the totesport Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.
Knight and Lewis were maintaining a superb record in the extended two-and-a-half mile feature, winning the race for a sixth time after a string of successes from Edredon Bleu and the ill-fated Best Mate.
Superbly handled by Tony McCoy who only came in for the ride after the abandonment of Windsor, the nine-year-old put in an exhibition round of jumping which would have done credit to both his illustrious former stablemates.
Always in a prime position as Hand Inn Hand made the running, Impek hit the front with a mighty leap four fences from home and McCoy just had to let his mount cruise home to beat Monkerhostin by five lengths.
Thisthatandtother, who found this track too sharp, stayed on to take third a further three and a half lengths away in the hands of Ruby Walsh.
There were some emotional scenes in the winner’s circle as Lewis led in Impek and Knight had no hesitation in nominating the Stan James King George VI Chase as the next port of call for her 5-1 winner.
She said: “I’ve always believed in this horse and he fully deserves to have won a big race because he’s been so consistent in his career.
“I put in a sly entry for the King George earlier in the week and I haven’t told Jim yet, but he loves Sandown, has won over three miles round there, and it makes sense to let him take his chance.”
Impek used to have problems at the start but these have been ironed out.
Knight explained: “We’ve just found the key to him and I know AP was as thrilled by this win as I’ve ever seen him.
“I do go with the horse to the start but he’s a definitely a reformed character and there’s no badness in him whatsoever.
“Tony said he was superb all the way and it reminded me of the way he jumped round the Grand National fences in the Topham last year when he never made a single mistake,” Knight added.
Paul Nicholls was satisfied with Thisthatandtother’s seasonal bow and he could also head to Sandown on Boxing Day.
He said: “I just wish the King George was at Kempton and we’d be going there with a great chance of getting good ground but I am inclined to let him take his chance at Sandown, as long the going isn’t too bad.
“Ruby said it rode like a two-and-a-quarter-mile race and the horse was always flat out.
“He told me he thought if this had been at Cheltenham it would have been a different result.”
Hand Inn Hand’s trainer Henry Daly had earlier landed the totesport.com Novices’ Chase with Billyvoddan.
In what proved an eventful contest, Richard Johnson’s mount battled it out with Kasthari over the final two fences after looking in trouble on the top turn.
Both horses contnued to run down the fences but Billyvoddan (11-4 joint-favourite) was in charge coming to the last and went away on the run-in as the pair finished well clear of Goblin.
Daly will consider Sandown’s Christmas fixture as a possible target but is unsure where Billyvoddan will go next.
He said: “I don’t think he’ll be coming to Huntingdon again in a race over two and a half miles. He wants a big galloping track and Richard said the going felt like soft on him.
“He actually wants genuine good ground which you can’t he certain of getting at Sandown in December.”
Even though Thisthatandtother was out of luck, Nicholls and Walsh were on the mark with 8-11 favourite Be Be King in the toteexacta Novices’ Hurdle.
Although the six-year-old made hard work of it, he eventually made his class tell as he came home two and a half lengths clear of Wee Robbie with Delightful Cliche back in third.
Kalmini (28-1) looks a useful recruit for trainer Sheena West after running out a six-length winner of the totepool Introductory Juvenile Novices Hurdle.
Jamie Goldstein steered him to a comfortable success over Kanpai while 6-4 favourite Pace Shot stuck on to be third despite his saddle slipping.
Undeniable (9-4 favourite) defied top weight to hold off the challenge of Free Gift in the totesport 0800 221 221 Handicap Chase for trainer Sue Smith and jockey Dominic Elsworth.
Smith was represented by her husband Harvey, who said: “He ran a good race with a lot of weight the other day and had come on for that.
“Hopefully he will be treated fairly by the handicapper after this. He’s a nice handy horse who jumps and stays well.”
There was an upset in the opening toteplacepot Handicap Hurdle when In The Hat, trained by John Jenkins, beat Prayerful by a length and a quarter at odds of 16-1.
The concluding totescoop6 Handicap Hurdle was turned into a procession by top weight All Star, as Nicky Henderson’s 5-1 shot stormed to a 15-length triumph over Sunday City.
Irish rider David Flannery was handed a two-day ban (November 30 and December 1) after being found guilty of improper riding on the unplaced Newtown Dancer.
