Richard Kingscote travelled to Newcastle for one ride on week five of the Racing League – and the Derby-winning jockey made it pay with a thrilling success aboard Bragbor.
With it he looks to have secured top jockey honours – worth £20,000 – and put Matt Chapman’s London & The South team in a virtually unassailable lead with just the final night at Southwell to come next week.
Chapman’s decision to play a joker with the George Scott-trained 7-4 favourite in the third race on the card proved a wise one – although only just, as Luke Morris conjured a tremendous surge from Say What You See for Chapman’s nearest pursuers The East, who also took third through Salamanca City.
Kingscote – who is preparing to travel to Hong Kong for a six-month spell – told Sky Sports Racing: “We thought I was allowed to come for two rides, but once the decs were done they recounted and I was actually only allowed the one!
“It was important to keep the points up and it’s nice pot to win, thanks to the Racing League for putting it on. I didn’t even think about it (top jockey) for the first two meetings and I didn’t know the prize-money was there until I came to the last meeting. It’s been great.”
Chapman, meanwhile, was keen to pay tribute to Scott for his handling of the lightly-raced Bragbor, who only made his debut in January as a four-year-old and was having just his third career start.
He said: “I’m so pleased for George Scott, he rang me up about this horse a bout five weeks ago and said I’ve got some nice horses for the Racing League, but the one I want to run is Bragbor in the one-mile race at Newcastle.
“This is a horse that cost nearly half a million, he’s hardly ever raced and has had little issues along the way. George has nursed him to this position and it’s a magnificent training performance.”
Sax Appeal had hit the right note for for Scotland in the opener over two miles, with 5lb claimer Archie Young getting the Charlie Johnston-trained 17-2 chance home from Synergism (The East) and Zealandia (Wales & The West).
It was then the turn of Ireland to strike, with Circus Of Rome a really impressive scorer in the hands of Finley Marsh. Gran Descans (WATW) took third, with Per Contra (Yorkshire) in third.
Winning trainer Richard Hughes – who struck in the corresponding race 12 months ago – said: “We knew he’d improve from Newbury for the little break. He travelled well today and his next target will be the mile and six hundred grand race at Haydock (on Sprint Cup day), he’ll be a live one in that.
“He’s a very nice horse and he’s going the right way.”
It was nearly a second for London & The South in race four, but the line came too soon for the rallying veteran King’s Lynn to collar the Warren Fentiman-ridden Golden Mind (9-1) for Richard Fahey and Mick Quinn’s The North.
Like Chapman, Quinn also made a good joker call, with Brian Ellison’s Northern Spirit (13-2) going one place better than last year in the fifth race of the evening in the hands of Ben Robinson. South Parade almost made it a one-two for Quinn’s outfit, but was just edged out by Pixie Diva (London & The South).
After a few near-misses, The East did get a winner on the board, with Jack Mitchell driving Tom Clover’s Crack On Boys (18-1) to victory in the penultimate event.
The lucky last was another for Ireland and another impressive one it was, too, as Cieren Fallon sliced through the pack aboard Ollie Sangster’s Tuco Salamanca (7-2 favourite).
