Tommie Gun leaves behind sinus issues to continue Twiston-Davies' strong form

Nigel and Sam Twiston-Davies's fine form rolled on as Tommie Gun made a winning hurdles debut in the 2m maiden event.

The four-year-old battled to win by a length and a quarter and took trainer Nigel's strike-rate in the last fortnight to 23 per cent, and son and winning jockey Sam's strike-rate to 24 per cent in that same period. The duo also enjoyed big-race glory with Broadway Boy at Cheltenham on Saturday.

The winning rider told Sky Sports Racing: "Graham and Alison [Jelley, owners] have been supremely patient with this horse. He had loads of sinus troubles and it wasn't an easy problem to fix.

"He basically always had a runny nose but now they've fixed that, so hopefully he can repay them with all that support he's been given."

He added: "He's done a lot of jumping and had been a little bit clumsy at home. It was nice to come here over the fixed brush hurdles as it helped him jump neatly and accurately."

Bowen brilliance

Sean Bowen's dominance in his bid for a first British jump jockeys' championship continued with a treble.

Bowen began with victories for Olly Murphy aboard Gardener in the 2m handicap chase and Castle Ivers in the 2m bumper, before he guided the Charlie Longsdon-trained Bugise Seagull to success in the 2m4½f novice hurdle.

Bowen could not make it a four-timer when Oakley Dancer was defeated by Walk Of No Shame in the 2m mares' handicap hurdle, but the hat-trick took his tally this season to 117 winners – 31 clear of nearest title rival Harry Cobden.

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