'This horse is fabulous!' - Sheila Lewis delight as Gris Majeur claims first win

Friday: Hereford

Gris Majeur, described as “fabulous” and “special” by his trainer Sheila Lewis, won at the third attempt over hurdles in the opener.

The five-year-old, owned by the trainer’s father, had not shone in two starts over a shorter distance but found the step up to 2m5½f in his favour to run out a five-length winner from the Paul Nicholls-trained Grange Road under Sean Houlihan.

Lewis said: “You could see today that he was much more settled and just came through with the longer distance helping him and the ground as well.

“He came from Ireland, we bought him at the Cheltenham sales in November. He’s a big raw horse, he’s grown a bit since we’ve had him as well, he's definitely very progressive.

“I really liked him as soon as I got him, I thought, ‘Wow this horse is fabulous. Special’. I’m really glad he showed something.”

The Powys trainer added: “He’s definitely a chaser, but I’m really glad that he’s won now. Not many horses come into my yard that I can win a novice hurdle with so it’s a real treat.”

Moore, Moore, Moore

It was a worthwhile trip to Hereford for the Moores as all three family members got on the scoresheet. Jamie caused a surprise when a 33-1 winner of the juvenile maiden hurdle aboard the Deborah Faulkner-trained Mickydee before Aggagio, ridden by brother Josh and trained by father Gary, narrowly justified odds-on favouritism in the novice handicap hurdle.

Results, replays and analysis

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