Le Milos and other raiders learn the danger of going for home too early at Kelso

Kelso is one of those tricky places to ride, with such a well-established reputation for sharpness that the great temptation is to go for home earlier than you should. That, I think, was at least part of the reason for the defeat suffered by Le Milos in the bet365 Premier Chase on Saturday, when he got involved a long way from home with Veterans' Final winner Wishing And Hoping.

There were only two other horses in the race and they fell out the back of the telly as Le Milos cruised along on the outside of his 13-year-old rival. It looked a forgone conclusion and there is no great surprise in learning that Dan Skelton's horse, last seen winning the Coral Gold Cup at the end of November, traded at 1-99 on the Betfair Exchange.

It was presumably at about the same moment that Empire Steel reached 999-1. The grey's goose had seemed cooked when he smashed his way through an early fence on the final circuit but with the full benefit of hindsight we can give credit to Ryan Mania for allowing his mount time to recover.

They produced a powerful finish to run down Le Milos, who had nothing left on the run-in. It was interesting to see Harry Skelton use his right rein to steer Le Milos off the rail and towards Empire Steel, possibly in the hope his mount might rally on finding another horse alongside. Mania steered a wide course from the last, ensuring he had a clear run even if Le Milos happened to wander off a true line.

Dan Skelton seemed upbeat about Le Milos's Grand National prospects, saying he had left plenty to work on. Getting beat in the Premier Chase is a pretty good idea for National contenders, judging by the subsequent Aintree triumphs achieved by Ballabriggs and Auroras Encore.

But the National is a serious stamina test and punters must now decide whether Le Milos really wants to go much further than the 3m2f over which he won at Newbury. Empire Steel was cut for the Ultima, won by northerners for the past two years, but it is reckoned by connections to come too soon.

It's another indicator of Britain's reduced involvement in the National that just one runner in the Grimthorpe Chase held an entry for Aintree. The Doncaster race has been influential in the past, with both Cloudy Lane and The Last Samuri starting as National joint-favourites after winning it.

Moroder, who won four on the bounce last term, rediscovered the winning habit to edge out Undersupervision, the pair ten lengths clear. They may meet again in the Scottish National, which could well take over as the natural target for Grimthorpe winners.

It was a big weekend for Sandy Thomson, as, in addition to Empire Steel, he also took Kelso's Morebattle with another strong finisher in Benson. Again, the race was rather set up for him by one horse going for home too soon, in this case the outsider Wajaaha, who briefly seemed to have all his rivals hard at work.

It was a frustrating outcome for the former local Lorna Fowler, now training in Ireland, whose Colonel Mustard looked the likely winner until getting overhauled, and then returned with an overreach. He was nonetheless shortened to 14-1 for the County Hurdle, in which he was third last year.

Those of you wanting to test your nerves ahead of next week could do worse than review Apple Away's Listed success at Doncaster, in which she met the final flight about halfway up and sprawled on landing while a Skelton-trained favourite sought to reel her in. Imagine you had a decent bet on Apple Away, then watch her do that. If the anxiety is too much to bear, you can always skip the festival and go straight to Aintree.

Flat racing is no calmer alternative, judging by the Jebel Hatta. Master Of The Seas had a useful draw but had to go all the way to the outside to get a clear run and was then beaten two necks.

Somehow, Alfareeq has taken that prize in back to back years at 14-1 and 25-1 while winning nothing else since 2021. What a game.

Read these next:

Richard Patrick learned from Tolworth trouble to get it spot on with Nemean Lion at Kelso 

Indiana Jones can raid top-level race 'somewhere this season' - but not at Cheltenham 

What we learned: Gold Cup option remains open for leading novice and Kelso earns deserved plaudits 

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