'Thankfully it's paid off' - Bishop's patience reaps reward for chasing debutant Force De Frap

Emma-Jane Bishop enjoyed her first winner of the season when Force De Frap made a brilliant chasing debut in the opening 2m1½f handicap.

The eight-year-old, who is owned by the trainer's racing club, stormed to a 15-length success under James Best to get Bishop off the mark at the 11th attempt. 

"I'm delighted with that because we'd been holding off going over fences with him," she said. "I wanted to get to know him well and get him a little bit stronger, and thankfully it's paid off.

"We haven't had many runners this season as we've been hanging on for the ground, but there comes a point when you've just got to crack on with them. It's great for our club too. There's a few more spaces in it for a little bit of money and I hope it's given them all great fun."

The Gloucestershire-based trainer registered a career-best five wins in her last two seasons and is looking forward to saddling more winners this term.

She added: "We'll try to build on that now and I'd love to get a few more new owners in the door. Hopefully, that can advertise what we can do as a small team."

Williams double

Venetia Williams struck with a rapid double on the card, headlined by Hold That Taught's five-and-a-half-length success in the feature 3m handicap chase.

The trainer, who enjoyed an across-the-card treble with Cepage's win at Cheltenham, was also successful with Tanganyika in the 2m7f handicap hurdle.

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