'It's been a struggle' - Loughnane's yard recovering after respiratory issue

Wednesday: Wolverhampton

El Hombre's first win in more than two-and-a-half years provided some much-needed relief for trainer Mark Loughnane, whose yard has been struggling for winners over the last three months.

The eight-year-old, whose last win came over this course and distance in March 2020, was driven into the lead by Joanna Mason and held off the late challenge of Porfin to win by a head.

"He just has a lot of issues this lad. He's a little legend of a horse. The young girls ride him out at home and he's a pleasure to do anything with but he's very frustrating," Loughnane told Sky Sports Racing.

The trainer said a fungal issue at the yard had been the reason for his season being slower than he would have liked, but this has been resolved and he is now looking forward to ending the year strongly.

"We've had an average season. The last three months the horses just haven't been firing. We tested everything and we found a little bit of aspergillus, not a lot, but it gets into the respiratory system," Loughnane added.

"It wasn't bad but we had to do something. I've been power-hosing stables and deep cleaned the whole place and it's been sorted. Our time of year is coming now and we've got a nice bunch of horses, but it's been a struggle. When you're in the doldrums in this game, it's hard to get up every day – you've just got to keep believing."

Bitter sweet

Jack Mitchell guided Al Dasim to victory in the 5f novice, but was called into the stewards' room after interfering with Woolhampton, who finished third. The placings remained unaltered but Mitchell picked up a two-day suspension for careless riding.

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