British racing up and running as Roger Fell saddles 1-2 in Newcastle opener

Trainer Roger Fell made history at Newcastle on Monday as he saddled a 1-2 in the first race after British racing's return from the Covid-19 shutdown at Newcastle.

The strong staying Zodiakos caused a 22-1 upset under James Sullivan, getting the better of stablemate Al Ozzdi at 4-1 in the aptly named Betway Welcome Back British Racing Handicap.

The pair pulled well clear of the third, the Adrian Nicholls-trained The Big House, with the race unfolding down the centre of the track.

Mick Appleby's Stone Mason, sent off 15-8 favourite, weakened out of the equation tamely enough at the business end of proceedings, eventually beaten 14¾ lengths in sixth.

Jockeys head to the parade ring at NewcastleCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The all-weather surface was expected to ride slower than usual due to the prolonged dry spell and warm weather, and that appeared to be the case as stamina came to the fore late on.

"It's very nice to get the first winner," said Sullivan, who has enjoyed big-race success in recent years through his partnership with Ruth Carr's Sovereign Debt.

"I think his ability to handle heavy ground helped him."

He added: "The track is riding very deep today and it helped at the end as he outstayed the other horse. Al Ozzdi got by me but in the last 100 yards his stamina kicked in."

The winning trainer is set for a busy period over the coming days, with four further runners this afternoon and five more at the same track tomorrow.

He said: "My instructions were to make it, to get on with because he has one pace and he did that perfectly.

Zodiakos (orange) pulled out all the stops to see off his stablemate Al OzzdiCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"It's not been bad for us as we're quite isolated, we're not round lots of other people. A lot of the staff live on site so it's quite easy."

Martin Cruddace, chief executive officer of Arc, the owners of Newcastle racecourse, said: "Everything has gone well so far. We've left no stone unturned. We are the first live sport on so there is incredible pressure. But there is enormous privilege too.

"If you had put a heart-rate monitor on me before the first race it might have been in the red zone. But it's calmed down now."

The Brian Ellison-trained Little Jo made his previous course experience count in the second contest on the card, digging deep to see off gallant 33-1 outsider Saisons D'Or in the Betway Heed Your Hunch Handicap.

Favourite backers suffered a second reversal of the day as Roger Varian's Mutasaamy proved disappointing at odds of 4-5 in eighth.

Both divisions of the Betway Novice Stakes races produced smart winners in the shape of Edraak and Art Power, the latter earning a quote of 25-1 for the Commonwealth Cup with Paddy Power on the back of his five and a half-length success.

Edraak: scored impressively at Newcastle on MondayCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap (3.20) threw up a cracking finish as Tony Hamilton got a fine tune out of Brian The Snail to deny Yousini by the narrowest of margins.

Kevin Ryan's Oakenshield ran out a decisive winner of the following 6f handicap under Andrea Atzeni, before Queen Of Kalahari showed an excellent attitude to score over the minimum distance for Lewis Edmunds and Les Eyre at 10-1.

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy wasted no time to get his season off to a flyer when timing his challenge perfectly aboard Alignak for Sir Michael Stoute in the 1m4f Betway Handicap.

However, the race had a sad postscript as Phil Kirby's December Second could not be saved after a nasty incident in the straight.

Thankfully, leading jockeys PJ McDonald and Jim Crowley reportedly walked away from the incident unharmed.

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