'Frustrating character' Nick Vedder back in winning groove following 40-day ban

Nick Vedder's last run at Southwell came under a cloud when his effort resulted in a 40-day ban from running, but he put right those wrongs with a fast-finishing victory in the 6f handicap.

The seven-year-old finished an eyecatching fourth at the track in October and was deemed by the stewards to have been schooled or conditioned in public, which resulted in a £3,000 fine for trainer Robyn Brisland and a 14-day ban for jockey Robbie Downey.

However, Nick Vedder returned to the Nottinghamshire venue with a vengeance to score by three-quarters of a length in the Class 6 contest.

"I thought he ran very well and did it nicely. It's brilliant as he's been a frustrating horse throughout his career and not just for me," Brisland said.

"His other previous trainers always thought he was a nice horse, but he can be a frustrating character who can get a lot of people into trouble."

On Nick Vedder's enforced absence, he added: "It was never frustrating to be off the track because there was a genuine reason, my horses weren't right at the time. Fingers crossed we can get him off and going now."

Terrific treble for fantastic Furtado

Local trainer Ivan Furtado enjoyed a fine start to the new year after registering a treble on the day, headlined by the heavily gambled Momtalik's victory in the 1m classified stakes.

The six-year-old had tasted defeat in all his previous 19 starts but was backed into 6-4 favouritism from 5-1 in the morning and duly obliged by a length and three-quarters under Jason Hart, who also rode the Furtado-trained Mount Mayon to a debut victory in the 1m novice stakes earlier on the card.

Furtado capped off the day by filling the first two places in the concluding 1m3f classified stakes when 4-1 joint-favourite Drew Breeze held off lesser-fancied stablemate Loose Chippings by two lengths.

Results, replays and analysis

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