Richard Hannon may not quite have the Brocklesby record of Bill Turner but he is one closer thanks to A Bear Affair’s effort in the race which this year was run in memory of the late trainer.
The William Hill Bill Turner Memorial EBF Brocklesby Stakes paid homage to a man who landed the contest six times and was renowned for turning up on Town Moor on the opening day of the Flat turf season with a particularly speedy two-year-old.
Hannon had two successes to his name prior to saddling A Bear Affair, who impressed in winning by three-quarters of a length from Ralph Beckett’s Dance A Jig at 9-2 under Sean Levey.
“Bill was a great man and a great trainer, we’ve not quite reached his six Brocklesby wins yet,” said Hannon.
“This horse has always been very likeable with a really good attitude and he could be every bit as good as some of the horses we’ve won this with.
“When you win this race there aren’t many places to go until the Woodcote (at Epsom) and he’s an ideal horse with his attitude, as a trainer you need more of these horses – you can really tell he’s going to be your mate.
“There’ll be more to come physically from him, he’s not really there in his coat, but mentally I want him to stay exactly as he is.
“He’ll improve a lot from this, if all of them had attitudes like his then my god, it would be easy! He’s extremely straightforward and he’s done us proud today.”
Last year’s Lincoln-winning silks were seen crossing the line in front again as Jon and Julia Aisbitt’s Mezcala was delivered to win the William Hill Epic Boosts Spring Mile Handicap as the 11-2 joint-favourite.
The four-year-old ran encouragingly several times over a mile last season, and returned to action clearly in good spirits under young rider George Bass to prevail by two and a half lengths.
“These big mile straight handicaps are hard and we didn’t quite know where we were,” said winning trainer Jack Channon.
“He’s had to come all the way over from (stall) three but his work has been very smart and I thought he’d improve way past his handicap mark.
“He’s done it very well but there’s a long way to go, he’s won off 85 today and he’s done it the right way round as he’s very lightly raced.
“We could look at something like the Spring Cup for him but we won’t be rushing him.”
Karl Burke was in the money in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Maiden Stakes as High Storm got off the mark under Sam James.
The Nathaniel three-year-old was gelded after two juvenile runs and showed he had improved for the procedure when the runner-up of a Southwell novice last month.
He took a step forward again when triumphing in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Maiden Stakes as a 15-2 shot, defeating Charlie Appleby’s Sailor Song by a length and a half.
