'He jumped awful today' - Serjeant Painter pulls win out of the fire for Pauling

Monday: Southwell

Serjeant Painter's round of jumping was described as "awful" by winning rider Kielan Woods, but that didn't stop him from recording two wins in the space of a week in the 2m handicap chase.

The Ben Pauling-trained seven-year-old had to be scrubbed along by Woods at the back of the field, but after making headway two out, he led at the last and held on to win by three-quarters of a length after idling on the run-in.

"He jumped awful today," Woods said. "He didn't show masses of interest on the way around but he came good in the end."

Pauling believed the performance was down to the races coming to close together, but was glad Serjeant Painter was good enough to land his second win over fences.

"He got the job done," Pauling said. "He's not the type of horse that you would necessarily run under a penalty but he got away with it. Kielan did well to get him into a position to make his move and he duly went and won.

"It's good to see him win twice in a week and we'll be giving him a bit of a break now, then go at it again. He's a horse that appreciates a bit of time between his runs, but we had no choice but to give it a go today and it's come off."

Empire strikes again

Byzantine Empire maintained his unblemished record at the Nottinghamshire track, winning the feature 2m novice handicap chase under Paddy Brennan on his debut over fences for trainer Fergal O'Brien.

Hughes double

Champion jockey Brian Hughes drew level with this season's leader Sean Bowen on 30 winners after a double on She's A Rocca for Nicky Richards and You Name Him for Rebecca Menzies, while Bowen won on Makthecat for Olly Murphy.

Results, replays and analysis

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