Berry Christmas for Fran as rider bags treble on the Fibresand

Fran Berry had only ever ridden two winners at the East Midlands track before this fixture but you would not have known it judging by the way he rattled up a 857-1 hat-trick completed by Sonnetist in the finale.

That winner in the 1m3f handicap and Princess Way in the 7f handicap were for his big backer David Evans and the trio were split by a remarkable ride on Ochos Rios in the 1m3f handicap for Neil Mulholland.

The treble took Berry to 12 winners for the winter campaign and on this evidence a shot at the ARC all-weather jockeys' championship could not be ruled out.