'I like to call it a Frankie dismount' - Jamie Neild sees funny side after riding first winner of the season

Jamie Neild’s first winner of the season looked in little doubt throughout the 2m5f maiden hurdle, although the amateur rider did endure the indignity of being unshipped from his mount Josh The Boss after the finishing line.

Neild made most of the running aboard the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained four-year-old, who scored by 19 lengths to make a successful hurdling debut.

Josh The Boss outran odds of 33-1 to land a 17-runner Kempton bumper in March and is owned by Neild’s father John, whose Splash Of Ginge won what is now the Paddy Power Gold Cup in 2017.

“We’ve got high hopes for him this season and today just cemented that,” Neild told Racing TV. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good horse.”

On being unseated by Josh The Boss after the line, the jockey added: “I’ll forgive him for that. I like to call it a Frankie dismount but I just forgot to land on my feet! The horse was tired and I was probably tired as well. He went one way and I went the other. We won, so we can laugh about it.”

John Neild’s blue and red silks were back in the winner’s enclosure when Bagheera Ginge struck in the 2m4f handicap chase to complete a double for Twiston-Davies.

The trainer’s son Sam helped the five-year-old get off the mark over fences at the seventh attempt.

Nickle back to form

Nickle Back had been winless in four starts since an impressive 30-length success at Fontwell in October 2021 but a first try over fences helped spark a revival as the Sarah Humphrey-trained seven-year-old made all to score by a similar margin in the feature 2m4f novice handicap chase.

Smart prospect

Flight Of Freedom was runner-up to subsequent Grade 2 winner Dysart Enos on her debut and Emma Lavelle’s mare made a successful start over hurdles in the 2m novice under Tom Bellamy.

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