WHITE TURF (7.20, nap) just couldn’t get the job done over hurdles, failing to score in 15 tries, but having now been sent over fences it has been another matter.
It took just two tries to notch his first win over the bigger obstacles, drawing well clear at Bangor last week to win by nine lengths.
And Alastair Ralph’s seven-year-old is expected to repeat the feat in the Stratford Racing Club Handicap Chase this evening over the same trip at Stratford.
The gelding carries a 7lb penalty but that shouldn’t stop another strong showing under Tom Scudamore.
MIGHTY GURKHA (1.50, nb) hasn’t won for Archie Watson since a conditions race at Kempton in January 2021, but he has been knocking on the door this summer after being gelded and can score at Chepstow in the 7f Dragon Bet Apprentice Handicap.
He was tad unlucky at Haydock, where he didn’t get a clear run when a two-length second to Hyperfocus last month, and then was in the mix when a close-up third at Newmarket three weeks later.
The four-year-old wore cheekpieces on for first time on his last run and while he didn’t win at Yarmouth 18 days ago, giving a whopping 16lbs to the winner, Giogiobbo, he only relented in the closing stages, going down by a length.
