The East made a major move to the top of the Racing League after a strong finish to night two of the team competition at Wolverhampton.
The Charlie Fellowes-led outfit left Yarmouth empty-handed in terms of winners a week ago, but got off the mark with 7-2 favourite Swivell in the penultimate race of the evening at Dunstall Park and Fellowes then played the second of his two allowed jokers in the finale.
Sir Mark Prescott’s 3-1 market leader Immediate Effect was narrowly denied top honours for the team, beaten a short head by Wales & The West representative Silent Age, but did pick up double points for finishing second as did Fox Avatar in fifth, ensuring The East now lead the way on 289 points.
Speaking prior to the last race, Fellowes told Sky Sports Racing: “It was always the plan to play the joker. Both trainers were very positive about their chances.”
London & The South held a narrow lead after last week’s treble at Yarmouth and while they failed to add to their tally on night two, they are The East’s closest pursuers on 270 points.
Scotland, managed for the first time this year by broadcaster Alex Steedman, also made a flying start to the competition with three winners at Yarmouth and continued their good form with a Wolverhampton one-two, as James Owen’s Charging Thunder (100-30) and 5lb claimer Mason Paetel narrowly denied Charlie Johnston’s La Pulga in a driving finish.
Ireland’s team manager Mick Fitzgerald played a joker in the same race, but the best of his two runners was the third home Chutzpal.
Steedman, whose team is now third on 259 points, said: “In victory and defeat, those are two of the best two rides you’ll see. I thought Paul Mulrennan was tremendous (on La Pulga) and both riders got the best out of a difficult situation.
“Mulrennan has glided across from stall 12 without using up too much gas and drops anchor and controls the race, but unfortunately he’s come up against a horse with really classy form who got a kind of Arazi ride from three furlongs out round the outside.
“It was just a thing of beauty and what a race to watch. It was one of the guys who has been doing at the top level for a long time and one of the young guys who I think will be doing it for years to come.”
Yorkshire were bottom of the table after week one but now sit fourth (197 points) after a well played joker from team manager Leonna Mayor, with Marco Botti’s Hyperchromatic (9-2) winning the fifth race on the card under Joanna Mason and fellow Yorkshire runner Double Parked picking up valuable points in third.
Mayor said: “I’m pleased. Both of them had a chance on the betting and to be fair to Marco he’s great and this was actually the first horse he flagged up that he wanted to run here.
“You can say the way in which he’s won he’s obviously a very good horse.”
Ireland are fifth (178) after scoring with the Richard Hughes-trained Sudden Flight (85-40), with Wales & The West sixth (169), having broken their duck for the competition with Silent Age.
The North (165) enjoyed a double on the night thanks to Mick Appleby’s Intervention (5-1) and the Richard Fahey-trained Stormy Impact (10-1), but are nevertheless bottom of the seven-strong league.
Speaking after Intervention’s opening race success, The North’s manager – former footballer and racehorse trainer Mick Quinn – said: “Get in you beauty! We’ve moved on from last week at Yarmouth, a bit further north – you can smell the northern air!
“We come into our own the further north we go, so we should peak at Southwell and Newcastle.”
Fahey said of Stormy Impact, winner of the 3YO Dash at Epsom on Derby day: “She’s not very big but she’s as tough as nails – she’s a fast pony!
“It’s unbelievable when a horse tries how much it means to a trainer and I love her to bits.”