Dark wins for veteran Thompson after retirement postponed

Retirement, what retirement? In January Victor Thompson, 74, announced he would not be renewing his trainer's licence at the end of the month. But he had a change of heart and sent out his first winner of the new year when King Of The Dark landed the 2m5f handicap chase under Tommy Dowson.

Results and analysis

He explained: "I was employing two girls, who could hardly ride when they came to me and I taught them everything, but they weren't doing the job properly. When I went racing they didn't ride the horses out, and it really annoyed me, so I rang Doncaster and entered the whole lot for the sales.