£1,000 buy Ardera Cross takes earnings for Young yard to more than £70,000

Trainer William Young jnr is unlikely to spend a better £1,000 than when buying Ardera Cross, who sealed an eighth victory for the Lanarkshire stable in the 2m½f handicap chase.

Ardera Cross was purchased out of Dan Skelton's yard at Doncaster sales in 2019 and has accrued more than £70,000 in prize-money, winning at Perth, Cartmel, Musselburgh and Ayr.

The ten-year-old took his course record to three wins from six starts with a length and three-quarter success and was the second leg of a treble at odds of 832-1 for jockey Derek Fox, who also struck on 2m4½f maiden hurdle winner Ahoy Senor and Slainte Mhor in the 3m handicap chase for Lucinda Russell.

Two of the winners came at a cost for Fox, though, who was suspended for a combined 13 days from March 15 to March 27 for his rides on Ardera Cross and Slainte Mhor.

Young jnr, who has four horses to run under rules, said: “He caught my eye in a seller at Hexham and I thought he was value at £6,000 that day, so I couldn’t believe we bought him for what we did later that month.

“He’s a lovely horse, so genuine and versatile, and he's doing a good job in keeping morale up."

Trainer Sandy Thomson celebrated his second career treble with the 3m½f handicap hurdle winner Doyen Breed and 2m4½f novice handicap chase scorer Sirwilliamwallace following Storm Nelson's success in the 2m4½f conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle, ensuring Theo Gillard's claim will be reduced to 5lb.

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