Francky Du Berlais digs deep to give Peter Bowen eighth Summer Plate

Saturday: Market Rasen

Eight hours on the road to land an eighth Unibet Summer Plate? Peter Bowen was happy to put up with the traffic to maintain his remarkable stranglehold on the summer jumping showpiece.

It is 325 miles from his west Wales base to Market Rasen yet he has dominated this race since he won it with Stately Home in 1997.

Friday was a difficult day on the roads but that did not affect 5-1 favourite Francky Du Berlais, who became the first multiple winner of the race, battling to repeat his 2021 success by responding valiantly to Jamie Bowen's urgings to lead near the finish for a neck victory.

"He had 12 stone and it was hard work, but he came home well," said the jockey. "He's a star. He's been such a good horse for the yard.

"He probably got his toe in a bit more last year and was rushed off his feet on the first lap this time, but once he got into a rhythm passing a couple he seemed to get his confidence and flew home."

The trainer, who also had Statuario finish third under Sean Bowen, said: "This has been a lucky race for us. You can't really put a finger on why but we have the right sort of horse for it; they go well on the ground and jump well. He jumped particularly well today."

Don't tell them, Pike

If only I'd bumped into Jamie Snowden before the Unibet 15 To Go Summer Handicap Hurdle, rather than catching up with him afterwards in the winner's enclosure.

Pisgah Pike was a 22-1 outsider for the £45,000 event, having not run over hurdles since 2020 and been beaten 60 lengths when a tailed-off last of seven in a handicap chase at Newton Abbot five weeks ago.

Yet after he had belied those odds and battled to hold off Castel Gandolfo by a head under Gavin Sheehan – with 5-2 favourite Cirque Royal in fifth – his trainer revealed this had been a long-term plan for a seven-year-old who was quietly fancied.

"We thought he was well capable of that," Snowden said. "He was just touched off here in a Listed race in September of 2020. We went novice chasing last year because we were trying to find races to win, but he was always going to be a better hurdler than chaser and this had been the plan for a while.

"We didn't think he was necessarily going to beat the Irish horse but we thought he had every chance of being placed. They don't know what price they are, do they?

"He was guaranteed the ground, it's decent prize-money, we knew he'd run well at the track before, and it was his second run after a wind operation. He ticked a lot of boxes. It's easy in hindsight, isn't it? He may come back in September for the Listed race again."

Jamie Snowden (right): 'We thought he was well capable of that'Credit: David Carr

All aboard Paddington

How could he get beaten? He had won his last three races, his trainer had won with her previous two runners, and Ask Paddington rewarded punters who stuck with those in form.

The 9-4 favourite defied top weight in the 2m7f handicap hurdle, scoring by three-quarters of a length off a mark 17lb higher than when his winning run began, despite being squeezed for room in the straight.

Rebecca Menzies, fresh from a Flat double at Hamilton with her last two runners, said: "That was his best performance to date. We were hoping he'd stay and I'm delighted.

"He's in a great place mentally and he definitely prefers this ground. We ran him a bit through the winter and it was just a waste of time on the soft.

"Since we've got the better ground he's been a complete revelation. He's had a few quick runs, so we'll have to be careful, but he seems to be improving."

Olly Murphy, who won the novice hurdle with Sure Touch, was dressed for the sunCredit: David Carr

Good effort

Hard work paid off as ground conditions were officially no firmer than good, despite a dry spell that had lasted "at least five weeks", according to clerk of the course Jack Pryor.

Among jockeys riding, Sam Twiston-Davies said: "It's good ground, they've tried hard". Sean Bowen added: "It's good, they've watered it well."

A lot of water was put on the track in the build-up and Pryor said: "I have to say a huge thank you to the groundstaff.

"To beat the worst of the heat, they've been coming in at 6am as we've put 10mm of water on each day this week. We put another 5mm on this morning and they were here at 4am."

Replays, results and analysis

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday