'It was nice because we’ve been hitting the crossbar a lot' - Ollie Sangster pleased as Sands Of Marra ends winless run
Trainer Ollie Sangster was relieved to end his seven-week wait for a winner when Sands Of Marra landed the 6f novice.
It was a first success since May 14 for Sangster, who was full of praise for his string despite the winless run.
He said: "They’re all running really well but it was nice to get a winner because we’ve been hitting the crossbar a lot recently.
"They ran well last week and the main one was Simmering in the Albany. We obviously bumped into a really nice filly in Fairy Godmother, but that’s fine, and hopefully we have some nice horses to come out in the next few weeks, so we can build on it for the rest of the year."
One horse still to return to action is stable star Shuwari, who suffered a setback earlier this year and was forced to miss the 1,000 Guineas in May. She has not featured since finishing second to Ylang Ylang in the Group 1 bet365 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in October.
"She’s okay and making good progress," said Sangster. "I’d like to think an autumn campaign is realistic; we’ll see how the next six to eight weeks go. It won’t be early in the autumn but hopefully we can make it happen."
Bowen shock
Apprentice Sean Dylan Bowen continued his impressive season when he partnered Barafundle Bay to a shock 33-1 win in the opening 1m3½f handicap.
It was the first part of a double for Bowen, who moved on to 16 winners for the campaign when Notre Maison scored in the concluding 5f handicap.
Chelsea scores
Edward Greatrex rode his third winner from his last 13 rides when steering the Ralph Beckett-trained New Chelsea to success in the feature mile novice. The pair landed a double when Allonsy won the 1m3½f fillies' handicap.
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