Hammer nails it to complete four-timer

Less than three weeks after Hammer Gun won here at 100-1 he came back to complete a four-timer in the feature mile handicap.

The four-year-old was the second leg of a double for trainer Derek Shaw, whose two winners were both greeted loudest on their return by his three-year-old daughter Heidi. Shaw also revealed that Hammer Gun was something of a landmark winner.

"I've never had one win four in a row before," he said. "A few have won three and been placed. The pressure's on to make it five now!"

He added of Hammer Gun: "He's showed a lot at home, but I took him over hurdles at Huntingdon just to toughen him up as he was a bit soft. I'm glad for Tony that it's paying off."

A lot has changed in three weeks, but owner Tony Flint made clear that a lot more had changed in four.

"Just before he won here at 100s, I was about to give him away," he admitted. "He was tailed off at Chelmsford, then had one problem after another. Had he ran as badly that day, that would have been it."

Now looking at a very different future, he added: "Hopefully he'll go on the grass. It's great what they do here, but you really want to be going to Doncaster and the like."

Hammer Gun's four-and-a-half-length win came from a mark of 75, 17lb higher than he was just 20 days ago, so Flint would be permitted to dream of running in some high-level handicaps.

One for Moore

Vantage Point picked up where he left off in the mile handicap for three-year-olds, but in very different surroundings.

Trained by John Gosden when he won a maiden here in January, his success on his handicap debut came in the care of Gary Moore and colours of Richard Green.

He had cost 60,000gns in the meantime, so a first prize of £3,200 goes down as no more than a good start on the road to recoup his prize, but jockey Hector Crouch suggested there will be more to come from Vantage Point, who beat Seaview by a short head.

"He made that harder than he should have," claimed the jockey.

THE BUZZ

Quote of the day
"You all think you're David Bailey!" Shaun Harris had the famous photographer in mind when joking with his owners Notts Racing as they chose to picture him with winner Roy's Legacy rather than get in the frame themselves.

Timely winner
There was an appropriate winner on the day Article 50 was triggered by the British government in Treaty Of Rome, who is named after the act that brought the EU (then the EEC) into being in 1957.

Thought for the day
The first three winners could all claim fairly privileged backgrounds. Treaty Of Rome was a $2.5 million yearling, Comprise is the eighth winner (including Enact and Enrol) out of his dam, and Hammer Gun was bred by the Queen.

Results and analysis