Fancied runner gives rivals mammoth head start before rallying to snatch incredible victory

There was drama in the opening 2m½f novice handicap chase as Stepney Causeway snatched victory in the final stride after giving his rivals a mammoth lead at the start.

The six-year-old looked to have lost all chance after he whipped round and seemingly planted himself as the tape went up, but Harry Reed somehow managed to get his mount going as his three rivals closed in on the opening fence.

Under an astute ride from Reed, Stepney Causeway managed to creep back into the contest before showing a sharp turn of foot on the short run-in to deny long-time leader Valentino Dancer by a neck.

How the race unfolded

After whipping around at the start and almost refusing to race, Stepney Causeway (light blue silks) gives his rivals a huge head start over the first fenceCredit: Sky Sports Racing

Stepney Causeway creeps closer as the race progressesCredit: Sky Sports Racing

Stepney Causeway gets closer to the leaderCredit: Sky Sports Racing

Stepney Causeway moves into second and is in hot pursuit of Valentino DancerCredit: Sky Sports Racing

Somehow he just gets up on the line for a remarkable victoryCredit: Sky Sports Racing

Trainer Milton Harris was in good form post-race and he quipped: "To be fair I told the jockey to lose 25 lengths at the start and come through slowly!"

He added: "In all seriousness it was a fantastic ride from Harry. He really used his head because I thought he had completely lost his chance at the start.

"I’m delighted for Middleham Park as well because they have been fantastic throughout. It would be easy for them to bail out with a horse like this but the whole operation have been excellent and I'm very grateful for their support."

Harris is hopeful of more success with Stepney Causeway and said: "He can’t go up much in the handicap and he's still a novice, which will give him some nice options for the start of the season proper."

Eagle flies home

Wonderful Eagle roared home to win the 2m2½f maiden hurdle on his debut over obstacles for the Philip Hobbs and Johnson White training combination.

Well backed pre-race, the four-year-old warmed into the contest before finishing off strongly to deny Littel Flour by a neck.

Hobbs said: "He surprised me how careful he was to start with because he has been mustard over hurdles at home. It's nice sometimes when they run like that because he will have learnt an awful lot from today.

"We weren’t concerned about running him on good ground, but he has lots of proven soft ground form in the book. He could be a really nice, versatile type of horse going forward."

Investment pays off

Investment Manager landed his second race on the bounce for Joe Tizzard and Brendan Powell as he ran out a convincing winner of the 2m5f handicap chase.

The seven-year-old has looked revitalised off the back of a mid-summer wind operation, and the importance of this procedure was not lost on his trainer.

Tizzard said: "We always really liked him at home, but you could never fully trust him. He had a wind operation this summer and it just took him a run to get his confidence. He has won really well the last twice and is in great form at the minute.

"We nearly sold him not long ago, but he has really given himself a nice lifeline with two lovely performances and we hope he will carry this improvement into the winter."

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