Winning-most battle remains deadlocked as Spare Parts fails to handle Fibresand

It did not prove the decisive day connections had hoped it would be for Spare Parts but a victory from Red Touch could have helped settle one category in the all-weather championships as it took Mick Appleby one win clear in the tussle to finish leading trainer.

Locked together with Captain Lars on both wins and countback, with seven victories, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth, a fourth-place finish or better from Spare Parts on his Southwell debut may have been enough to clinch the £10,000 prize for winning-most horse. However, unable to act on the Fibresand, he came in last under Nicola Currie behind Hammer Gun.

The defeat takes the contest into the last day on Friday when Captain Lars is due to run at Newcastle with Spare Parts at Lingfield, where his participation in his preferred race, an apprentice handicap, remains in the balance.