Although the Derby ante post lists will not have flickered following Henlow’s Sunday night opens, the night was not without its tales of battling perseverance.
Take Kim Taylor’s Roman Ginger (Burnpark Champ-Tommys Girl, Apr 13) who failed in her first five A8s and needed a downgrade to A9 to eventually kick-start her career.
On Sunday she completed an A5-A4-O/R hat-trick to land the 460 maiden, her 11th win in 29 races (38% strike rate).
The night’s 428m open went to a dog who had similarly risen from A8 obscurity, Jason Bloomfield’s Danish Duke (Droopys Scolari-Hylda Glyder, May 13). The head winner in 26.39 (-10) was landing his seventh success in just 18 races (39%).
On a lucrative night for the chalk monkeys, Eric Cantillons’s Blackrose June made it three from her last five with a 27.88 (-10) FON while Colin Finch’s Topwnspark Jenny lost her maiden status with a 34.13 (-15) victory over 550 metres.
