'We were stationary for three hours' - Quick Sharpener beats traffic jam before completing easy win for Jamie Snowden

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Travel chaos resulted in a muted start to the afternoon, but a three-hour motorway delay was not enough to temper Quick Sharpener's enthusiasm as he cruised to victory in the 2m5f handicap chase. 

The M5 was closed for several hours due to an accident and resulted in a walkover in the opening 3m1f novice handicap chase, with Queensbury Boy handed a default win after his sole rival was caught in traffic. But although the following contest was also whittled down to just two runners, the Jamie Snowden-trained Quick Sharpener was able to make it to the track in time for a showdown with favourite Delporto. 

Gavin Sheehan played the waiting game on the 11-5 shot before taking up the running at the third-last, and the nine-year-old came home nine lengths clear of Delporto for a second chase success. 

"There was a crash on the M5 and we were stationary for three hours, the poor chap. But thankfully our travelling head girl fought through the traffic and got there on time, which was a huge relief," Snowden said. 

"This is his first run for us and he seems to have just lost his way a bit in the winter, so he's just freshened up and it's nice to see him go and win. Perhaps he does want a bit of nicer ground, and he might need a little bit of time between his races, so we'll see what we do next." 

Redemption for Bailey

Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls may not have been able to get Court In A Storm to the track in time for the opening race, but they did eventually arrive and were rewarded with a winner when Campaign Trail took the 3m1½f handicap hurdle under Tom Bellamy.

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