'I thought she'd get lapped' - Williams hails owner intervention for feature win

Saturday: Newbury

Noel Williams was shocked and delighted with Largy G's victory in the Grade 2 mares' novice hurdle, and was also prepared to deflect a huge chunk of credit for the win to owner Neil Berry's wife Lucie McGarity.

Williams would have had a leading chance with Speech Bubble, but took her out because of the ground and said: "She's not a bad second string is she?

"I was thinking about places like Newton Abbot in the summer for her, but Lucie said we should stick her in and I thought, 'Oh God, she'll get lapped'. Then I started to pick it apart and thought to myself, 'She could just go and run a massive race'.

"I am shocked – delighted as well – although I thought she'd outrun her price. This was beyond our wildest dreams."

Largy G returned at 14-1 and McGarity said: "She ran brilliantly at Newbury last time when she was third behind Speech Bubble, who must weigh 100kg more than our little filly. If they were on comparable weights we'd be on 10st 4lb and Speech Bubble on 13st 7lb!

"She's 13.2hh with slightly longer legs – she's literally the tiniest thing in the world. It's incredible and I said to Noel we should try as we had nothing to lose."

Brilliant Bermeo

Our Tiger Roll was how Romilly Stuart-Jervis and his wife Miriam described Bermeo after he recorded an emotional success in the veterans' chase. It was also a notable win for jockey Bryan Carver, who was riding out his claim.

Bryan Carver: jockey had reason to smileCredit: Harry Trump

He did so on the likeable 11-year-old, who runs in the colours of Manhole Covers Ltd, the owner's business, and was scoring on his first start for Harry Fry.

"He is our Tiger Roll," beamed Stuart-Jervis. "This has been a year in the planning since he ran at this meeting 12 months ago."

Retirement may have been an option for Bermeo after some lesser efforts and Stuart-Jervis added: "He's 11 and if he showed us he didn't want to be a racehorse, we'd have found him a really good home, but he wants to be a racehorse."

The race was sponsored by BetVictor, which was apt for the owner, who said: "My grandfather knew Victor Chandler very well - they were friends on the racecourse - and legend has it my grandfather lent William Hill £50 in the 1950s to help him out."

Lalor thrills owner

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls conjured a win out of Lalor at the fourth time of asking in the 2m4f handicap chase, to the delight of owner David Staddon.

Staddon switched his leading light from Kayley Woollacott to Nicholls last summer and said: "It means a lot. It's inevitable that you might lose a bit of faith when he's the age he is [ten], but many times punters go to the races and look at the card and see a class horse. Well, he was the class horse in that race and Paul's done a great job with him."

Lalor: chaser was back on songCredit: Edward Whitaker

Nicholls said: "It's nice to win with him and I just said to Mr Staddon that sometimes it takes a while to get the best out of them."

No grounds for concern

The card was hit by 15 ground-related non-runners, but Sam Thomas, who saw Mot A Mot make a winning stable and handicap debut in the 2m3f novice handicap hurdle, had zero complaints about conditions.

He said: "I walked the course when I got here and as soon as I'd walked up the straight I rang [clerk of the course] Keith Ottesen and asked him where the quick bits were. He'd done such a good job and it was lovely ground.

"I feel you get a good first impression the second you walk out on to a course and I didn't feel there was any bits of concern otherwise we wouldn't have run."

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