Grech and Parkin bolster squad with two nice prospects for the season ahead

Owners Mike Grech and Stuart Parkin have established themselves as one of the emerging forces in jumps racing in recent seasons and were responsible for two easy winners in the first two races.

It was Shannon Hill who began the day by landing the spoils on his first start under rules at prohibitive odds of 1-3 in the 2m6f maiden hurdle. The winning distance of two and three-quarter lengths hardly told the story.

The eye was drawn to the supremely strong-travelling four-year-old some way out and Parkin said: "That was a nice introduction. He pulled quite hard early so we sent him to the front and he settled better after that.