'He apologised for getting him beat at Ayr' - Mereside Madness wins for the first time on turf

Mereside Madness finally got off the mark on turf at the ninth attempt in the second division of the 7f handicap. Trained by David and Nicola Barron, the four-year-old took advantage of the strong pace and breezed past the field as they tired, going on to win by a length and a half at 14-1.

Nicola Barron said: “I think they went too quick in front, which probably exaggerated the race, but he runs well fresh and he’s done a good job there.”

Joe Fanning, who had also ridden him into second at Ayr last June, was in the saddle and made no mistake this time.

Barron added: "Joe came into the winner’s enclosure and the first thing he did was apologise for getting him beat at Ayr last year. He’d definitely shown he had the ability to win on turf, so we’re glad he’s done it.”

Course firsts

Oisin Murphy rode his first winner at the track on the James Ferguson-trained Wolfpack.

The three-year-old got off the mark at the third time of asking, having shown plenty of promise when second on debut at Southwell. Sired by 2,000 Guineas winner Kameko, he appreciated the return to a mile. 

Ferguson said: “Hopefully he’s a nice horse who’s going places and he settled beautifully today. His drift was just down to inexperience, and when asked the question he quickened away nicely.”

Murphy later won the 1m4f handicap for Andrew Balding on Topteam.

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