Crowley firmly back on top again after short-odds four-timer

The see-sawing battle for the Stobart Flat Jockeys Championship is once again tilted heavily in favour of Jim Crowley after he followed a Salisbury double on Friday evening with a short-priced four-timer. He is now once again five clear of reigning champion Silvestre de Sousa.

Crowley, who would have had a third winner at Salisbury on Friday evening but for traffic problems, had an old friend to thank for two of his winners. Both his hard-fought win on Salateen in the four-runner conditions race and a much more clearcut success on He’s No Saint in the 7f handicap were for trainer David O’Meara, who Crowley knows well from his former life as a journeyman jump jockey.

He said: “David and I are good friends from when we were both riding over jumps. We used to travel together quite often. It’s great to see him do so well at training, and I’ve had a few winners for him.”