Awraad strikes to get Gemma Tutty off the mark for the turf season

Gemma Tutty, who has “a hard act to follow” after a personal best 27 winners and £392,000 in prize-money in 2024, revealed plans for expansion after getting off the mark for this turf season.

The North Yorkshire trainer, who landed the Doncaster Spring Mile and the 3YO Dash at Epsom last term, won with her first juvenile runner of the campaign as Awraad took division one of the 5f juvenile novice under Connor Beasley.

“We have 29 horses in and we’re full, but we’ve got planning permission for another seven boxes,” she said. “We just need to start the work and hopefully that will be in a couple of months.

“We had a super year last year, but that makes it a hard act to follow – hopefully with a few more horses we’ll do it. We have eight or nine two-year-olds and Awraad was the most forward, I’ve got some nice ones for later in the season.”

Alex lands gamble

Ice Cold Alex made all in the second division of the two-year-old novice to land a gamble after being backed into 15-2 (from 20).

“We fancied him a bit,” said trainer Ollie Pears. “He didn’t cost much and his sire Soldier’s Call isn’t the most fashionable. He has a fantastic pedigree and has always worked nicely. He did the job well.”

Pears and jockey Cam Hardie struck later on the card with Keldeo in the 5f handicap. The win capped a 513-1 treble for the rider, who also landed the 2m5½f handicap on Quercus Robur.

Bethell's poignant return

Trainer Harriet Bethell, who suffered life-threatening injuries in a fall in 2019, returned to the course where her subsequent sponsored walk raised many thousands of pounds for the Injured Jockeys Fund to land the 6f handicap with the Joanna Mason-ridden City Captain.

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