Boys in Bloom
Riley Boys, who is owned by a Hull flower seller, was back in bloom at Beverley yesterday after James Given's charge took the feature race of the day at odds of 7-1.
Paul Riley is no stranger to success on the Westwood having cheered his chestnut to victory twice before.
But this was arguably the sweetest triumph of them all given the style with which Robert Winston booted the five-year-old over the finishing line in the McLean And Appleton Handicap.
Riley Boys was last approaching the penultimate furlong but made eye-catching progress thereafter – even after Winston found himself short of room attempting a run on the inside.
But once a gap finally appeared on the far rail, Riley Boys picked up nicely to register his third course victory with one and three-quarters of a length to spare from Augustine.
“He loves it round here and Robert gave him the right ride,” said Given. “I don’t know what it is about this track – maybe the fact it’s right-handed - but he seems to come alive here.”
There was to be a sting in the tale for Winston, however, after he was handed a two-day (June 25-26) ban for careless riding.
Jockey Tony Hamilton was in top form with a near 63-1 double in the first two races of the day.
Hamilton, who now has eight victories for the season, firstly came in for a winning spare ride aboard Granny Peel in the opening Racing UK On Channel 432 Claiming Stakes.
With Neil Callan held up on the way to East Yorkshire from London, where he was acting as a witness at an appeal hearing for Jamie Spencer, Hamilton was seen to good effect aboard Kevin Ryan’s filly, who stayed on well to land the spoils as an 11-4 favourite.
Despite looking ill at ease going down to the stalls, Granny Peel, retained by connections afterwards, showed good speed throughout the five-furlong dash before stretching clear to win with three lengths in hand of runner-up Bowl Em Over.
“Tony must have been thinking ’why on earth is he running this?’ before the start, but it was a different proposition at the end,” smiled Ryan.
“She’s moved like that since day one but she’s very tough.”
It was the two-year-old’s third consecutive success following victories at Leicester and Wolverhampton in May.
Hamilton was back in the winner’s enclosure 30 minutes later after booting home Mister Fizzbomb (16-1) in the Westwood Handicap.
John Wainwright’s gelding, runner-up his last two starts, was always close to the pace before making his move after long-time leader Leo McGarry downed tools two furlongs from home.
Hamilton still had work to do, however, and needed all his strength to repel the late charge of second-placed Fonic Rock, who went down by a length.
Favourite-backers suffered an acute reverse in The Commitments Play Live On 22 June Maiden Stakes after odds-on shot Dear Gracie went down to Robema.
There appeared no excuses for James Fanshawe’s runner-up as the 100-30 winner, trained by John Quinn and ridden by Graham Gibbons, showed a noteworthy burst of speed to secure a going-away five-length success.
Quinn came within a neck of a double for the day after Slipperfoot was collared beneath the shadow of the post in the Win A Red Ruby Here Next Thursday Fillies’ Handicap won by Muara, who scooted home under 5lb claimer Mark Lawson at odds of 5-1.
