Envy Apple King proves 11-1 Yarmouth surprise

Yarmouth: focus now switches to the Sky-broadcast gala on Thursday

  PICTURE: STEVE NASH  

ENVY APPLE KING was a shock 11-1 winner of the £1,200 final of the Derby Purse over 659m at Yarmouth in a race dominated by outsiders.

The winner, trained by David Pruhs at Peterborough, trapped in front and maintained the advantage going round the first bend where odds-on favourite Blonde Fletch was forced to check and lost valuable ground.

It was 14-1 chance Carden Twilight, a kennelmate of the marker leader, who was to provide the chief threat and he chased hard to the fifth bend where he might just have got in front, but Envy Apple King soon reasserted and went on to win by a length and a half in 40.43sec. Mays Harvestmoon and Blonde Fletch were, respectively, a further short-head and neck away.

The other final, that of the Magners Sprint over 277m, went much more to form with the £1,000 prize claimed by 4-5 favourite Fernhill Jess, although her supporters did have cause for concern at the first bend.

It was at that point that Dave Allen’s bitch, pacing up well as she attempted to clear fast-starting KInda True, bravely cut across that rival to claim the lead, but her back legs were clipped in so doing and she could easily have tumbled.

She did lose momentum, but showed beautiful balance to quickly regain her momentum and came home just under two lengths ahead of Rathanny Ruso in recording 16.50sec.

*The Highlander was comfortably quickest heat winner in a Bags/SIS 500 for A4 grade, taking the second of the 462m contests in 28.15sec. Other heat winners were Criss Cross (28.44sec) and Fleetwood Shy (28.49sec).