Bumper double just the tonic for Chris Gordon at Kempton as stable emerges from 'sickly' spell

Chris Gordon has endured a challenging few months due to illness in his yard, but by winning both divisions of the bumper at Kempton on Friday he confirmed his string was back in rude health.

The Great Yorkshire Chase win of Annual Invictus two weeks ago was a sign the trainer's horses were getting back on track and in Electric Mason and Andashan, who were partnered by Rex Dingle, he has two useful prospects to take into the spring. 

"We've had a funny season," he said. "The horses have been coughing and they haven't been in the best of form, we've had it going around for about three months and they've been sickly. They weren't finishing their races but a couple of weeks ago things started to change."

Electric Mason showed dogged resolve to deny Tamarind Bay by two lengths, with the 2-1 favourite Ken Roy back in third, and Gordon thinks the form could work out well with plenty of the runners liked beforehand. 

Electric Mason: £110,000 purchase won the first division of Kempton's bumperCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I'm never very confident in life about these things," he said. "I've been in the bar and Ben Pauling's horse was fancied and Paul Nicholls' horse was fancied and Alan King's too, but we really liked our guy.

"He sat right out the back at Ascot last time and made up an awful lot of ground in a short space of time. He got loose for 30 seconds before the race and crashed through a rail – he just got a bit of stage fright – but he did it very well. He's a grand horse."

Half an hour later things got even better when Andashan made the best possible start to his career and completed a double for the trainer and jockey. Gordon has a soft spot for the four-year-old and has a lucrative target in mind. 

Andashan beats Tradecraft in division two of the bumper at Kempton on FridayCredit: Edward Whitaker

"Both were bought by Jerry McGrath and we loved this horse at the sales," he said. "He'll go to the £100,000 sales bumper at Newbury in March – it's a fantastic race to aim for. He's such a lovely, sweet horse. I ride him out a fair old bit and he's one of my favourites.

"I'd say the first division was stronger. I've taken him to Lambourn with Electric Mason twice and we're always hanging on to the other horse's coattails. He's a staying horse though and he'll be a great fun for the future."

Read these next:

'He shows absolutely nothing' - dark horse Highstakesplayer maintains unbeaten chasing record with clinical performance 

Monbeg Genius and other horses owned by Michelle Mone and her husband cleared to race 

Nicky Henderson slams 'ultra-ridiculous' 6lb difference in mark for Betfair Hurdle favourite 

Do you want £700+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.