The victory of Brookside Richie and the defeat of 1-5f Coolavanny Shado were the main talking points of the first round of the ARC Northern Flat first round at Newcastle on Thursday night.
The 28.34 recorded by Select Stakes winner Brookside Richie suggested that the Jimmy Fenwick trained black is om seriously good nick going into what will probably be his last season of racing.
In his first race of 2023, Richie clocked his fastest ever run at Brough, despite a slightly slower than optimal split and he has taken over favouritism for this £12,500 Cat One event.
Meanwhile Winter Derby winner Coolavanny Shado, who went out of the All England Cup in the first round, once again failed to perform in the North East. Patrick Janssens black trapped moderately and there was a delay until ‘the turbo’ kicked in. When it did, the steering went awry at the first bend as he just kept going. All over the place when behind dogs at the third bend, he eventually ran out of steam and finished fifth.
The unluckiest runner on the night was Kilara Scottie who seemed to lose his action around the last two bends before checking on the run-in with the opening heat at his mercy.
