'It's all about quality for us' - Alastair Ralph explains his record season

Wednesday: Ludlow

A career-best season for trainer Alastair Ralph was brought up as Holly Hartingo took the 2m5f mares' novice hurdle, which also completed a quickfire 41-1 double for Jonathan Burke.

Burke had already extended the Charlie Longsdon-trained Scene Not Herd's unbeaten chasing record to 3-3 before getting the leg up on Ralph's five-year-old mare, who was purchased for £27,000 at the Doncaster sales.

The 20-1 shot struck on her stable debut to bring up 18 winners for the season for Ralph, surpassing his previous best of 17 in 2019-20.

Ralph, whose day got even better when another Irish point-to-point recruit, Tintern Abbey, landed the bumper under conditional Jay Tidball, cited a better calibre of horse as the reason for the rapid achievement of the milestone.

Ralph said: "It's all about quality for us. We've improved our quality, so that's what I would put it down to.

"We'll keep ticking along. You can do all the advertising you like but winners are where you get the best advertising, and that's what we'll keep doing."

Balco Coastal: now 2-2 over hurdlesCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Shropshire-based trainer's other runner on the card, Iontach Cheval, failed to build on his hurdling debut win at Uttoxeter, managing only eighth in the two-mile novice hurdle won by odds-on Balco Coastal under Nico de Boinville.

Balco Coastal was following up a win at Huntingdon to remain unbeaten over hurdles, giving trainer Nicky Henderson another exciting option in the two-mile novice hurdling division.

Book's quick double

Lucy Turner and her boss Venetia Williams teamed up for a third win in four years in the opening 2m5f female amateur jockeys' handicap hurdle with Green Book.

It was a second win in a week for the four-year-old, who won for the first time over hurdles at Haydock on Saturday.

Results, replays and analysis

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