Cumbrian trainers come out in force for record-breaking payday

Carlisle boasts its highest ever payday of £212,000 across a seven-race card on Sunday with the series finale of the Northern Lights and the Listed Houghton Mares’ Chase.

With £35,000 on offer for each of the five series finals, the card has attracted plenty of local interest, with Nicky Richards double-handed in the feature Smarkets-sponsored 3m½f handicap hurdle (3.00).

Richards, whose Greystoke Stables are just 15 miles from the track, runs Western Rules, who unseated his rider last time, and Top Billing, last seen at Hexham earlier this month.

"Top Billing was disappointing last time but hopefully we’ll put a line through that and he’ll make up for it on Sunday. He might run a good race if he puts his best foot forward.

"With Western Rules we set off with an idea of going chasing, unfortunately he got brought down early on. We knew he was qualified for this and that it was a good prize, so we thought we’d have one more run before we go back over fences."

Fellow Cumbrian trainer Tristan Davidson, who has taken the plunge into full-time training, also runs two, with Justatenner and Chicoria making the short trip from his yard near Brampton.

The former was a strong second at Ayr last month following back-to-back wins on good and soft ground earlier in the year, while Chicoria bids for a hat-trick in the hands of Richard Johnson.

Davidson said: "Chicoria hasn’t run since April, but runs well fresh. It’s a stiff track and he’ll have plenty to do."

Earlier on the card, the Listed Houghton Mares’ Chase (1.25) has attracted four runners, including the Nigel Hawke-trained Pearl Royale, who fell at Wetherby last season after an impressive win at Wincanton.

The trainer said: “She goes with every chance and is working really well. We think a lot of her and this was the logical race off her mark of 137.

"You can write off her last run when she slipped. She won really nicely at Wincanton on heavy ground the time before and the softer the better for her. We’ll see how she performs on Sunday before making a plan."

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