'He’s got a bright future' - Charlie Hills excited by debut winner Aldhaja

Thursday: Southwell

Charlie Hills believes Aldhaja could develop into a smart prospect for the yard after scoring readily on his debut in the second division of the 7f novice under Marco Ghiani.

The three-year-old was sent off 7-4 favourite and was extremely professional in beating the James Tate-trained Ebtsama, who had previously finished second to subsequent Group winner Fast Attack.

Hills said: "I’m really pleased. He’s a nice horse who has taken time to mature – he’s definitely got a bright future ahead of him.

“He’s done everything right, but will certainly improve for the run. He hit the line strongly and will get further in time."

The Lambourn trainer praised Ghiani, who was riding his 40th winner in the 2021-22 all-weather jockeys' championship.

“He’s doing really well," the trainer added. "We've had some good success together recently and I hope it carries on.”

First for Fallon

Cieren Fallon enjoyed his first winner in the Qatar Racing silks since being named interim first jockey for the operation when guiding Criollo to victory in the first division of the 7f novice for trainer William Haggas.

Cieren Fallon: temporary first jockey for Qatar RacingCredit: Edward Whitaker

Fallon's promotion came after Oisin Murphy was banned for 14 months on Tuesday for Covid and alcohol breaches.

Groundhog day

The Shaun Harris-trained Al Suil Eile and Mulzim, for Mike Murphy, were both successful on this day in 2021 – the former at Kempton and the latter at this track – and both struck again a year on.

Results, replays and analysis

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