Cormier set for £100,000 jackpot bid in County Hurdle after Morebattle win

Saturday: Kelso

On the track's richest ever raceday, Cormier won a first prize of just over £51,000 and the chance to bid for a £100,000 bonus at Cheltenham by landing the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle.

The Shunter earned the payout by following up at the festival 12 months ago and trainer Brian Ellison has his sights on the County Hurdle with a horse who won at Cheltenham in January.

Cormier came out on top in a race in which the two hurdles in the home straight were omitted due to low sun, so that only four were jumped in total.

The trainer said: "This horse used to be very keen when we first got him but he's settled now. If anything he got there too early but he tries. Taking the hurdles out didn't bother him because he's won a few on the Flat.

"Cheltenham will be different but we know he acts round there. Whether he's good enough doesn't matter, he's won a £100,000 race and Dan [Gilbert], his [part] owner, lives just over the road from Cheltenham."

Son shines

Nells Son ensured that a grim week ended on a better note for owners David and Nicky Robinson and trainer Nicky Richards with success in the Grade 2 bet365 Premier Novices' Hurdle.

Their Home Fire lost his life in a fall at Musselburgh on Wednesday that also put jockey Danny McMenamin out of action with concussion.

Three days on, Sean O'Keeffe took his place on the stablemate who belied his position as 16-1 outsider to beat 5-2 joint favourite North Lodge by a short-head.

"The ups and downs of this game are not easy, as we all know," Richards reflected. "Nicky was very upset, as we all were, but it's lovely to end the week on a good note."

The highly regarded Nells Son had been beaten in both outings since his successful hurdling debut here in October but his trainer said: "He's a grand horse. We've been building him up. The trip beat him at Ayr so we dropped him back at Haydock, where we rode him to run a good race. I thought 'are you as good as I thought you were?' Was I getting it wrong with him altogether?

Nells Son: could be aimed at the Scottish Champion HurdleCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"He's fairly ground dependent, he needs a bit of soft ground. The Scottish Champion Hurdle is a possibility, I'll see what the weather's doing.

"I said to Sean you'll be seeing this horse at Leopardstown next Christmas. He'll go over fences next season and he'll make a wonderful chaser."

Richmond Lake took a crashing fall at the final flight and brought down Donny Boy but though both lay winded for a while, each eventually got to their feet.

Richards also won the 2m5f handicap hurdle with Famous Bridge, who had unseated his rider when odds-on here last month.

"He was about to get involved and he's done a good bit of schooling since," the trainer added. "He was a lot more professional today. There are a couple of handicaps we could look at for him at Aintree."

Replays, results and analysis

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