Shrewd Lungo on cloud nine
Len Lungo’s decision to switch Cloudmor back to the hurdling game paid off when the five-year-old ran out a decisive winner of the Newcastle Breweries Classified Hurdle.
Cloudmor had finished runner-up in a two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase at Newcastle last time and, tackling the same trip here, led after three out.
Despite not being too fluent at the final flight, he stayed on well under Brian Harding to score by nine lengths from Emperor’s Monarch.
Lungo said: “The horse’s owners Jimmy Harrison and Robert Colvin will be delighted because they also bred him.
“They are genuine lovers of National Hunt racing and they will not be worried that it is only a little race at Sedgefield that he has won.”
Tom Greenway was taken to North Tees Hospital for precautionary X-rays after sustaining concussion in a fall from Mags Two.
Harding completed a double when Zaffie Parson won the concluding Sendrig Construction Ltd Handicap Hurdle.
Alan Swinbank will hope his Sedgefield double with Arctic Echo and Silver Snitch is a good omen for Collier Hill’s chances in the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Arctic Echo went to the front four out in the hands of conditional Dougie Costello and was well in command at the top of the hill in the World Bet Exchange At WBX.COM “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle.
The seven-year-old then strode away to pass the post with 18 lengths to spare over Bouncing King.
Swinbank’s assistant Bill Haigh said: “He has been waiting for this ground (soft) and he has come back well after a nice break.
“He was bred by his owner Patrick Dineen and I don’t know what Alan will do now as he can’t get in a novices’ handicap because he is rated 112.
“He is a nice horse who should keep improving and I trained his mother Arctic Oats to win six races.”
Silver Snitch, partnered by Tony Dobbin, proved two lengths too good for Senora Snoopy, having led going to the penultimate flight in the second division of the race.
Conditional jockey P J McDonald was rewarded for his work on the gallops on Lucky Nellerie when the Ferdy Murphy-trained seven-year-old ran out a wide-margin winner of the Gosforth Decorating And Building Services Maiden Chase - in which only four of the 12 runners completed.
Murphy said: “P J rides him out everyday and has done a great job with him too so Graham (Lee, Murphy’s stable-jockey) said we should leave him on the horse.”
That’s Racing went to post for the Pearsons Marketing And Exhibition Novices’ Handicap Hurdle still a maiden after 31 races.
But he was backed from 10-1 to 13-2 and finally got his head in front where it mattered under Graham Lee.
The Bob Johnson team suffered a cruel blow last week when Bob’s Buster died following a bout of colic.
However, Sands Rising, ridden by the trainer’s son Kenny, helped raise the spirits when just holding off the challenge of Your Advantage by a head in the Ramside Event Catering Handicap Chase.
