'People know more than I do' - Daly's surprise as 14-1 to 9-4 gamble is landed

Tuesday: Hereford

Braganza Bay had been beaten nearly 200 lengths in his nine finishes but found himself as the day's major market mover and stepped forward to the delight of those who forced his odds of 14-1 to topple to 9-4.

Trainer Henry Daly said he was surprised by the strength of market support for his "enigmatic" runner in the 3m1½f handicap hurdle. Cheekpieces were added for the first time while the step up in distance and low rating were believed to be possible contributing factors to the improved form of the five-year-old.

Braganza Bay was recording his first career victory from 12 starts and he was last seen finishing a 34-length ninth at Stratford last month. His opening price halved to 7-1 on Monday night and continued to shorten on Tuesday.

"F*** knows, honestly," said Daly, when asked about the gamble. "I had a look last night and saw him at 12-1 and thought that was fair enough, then I looked this morning and saw he was 11-4. I thought, wow, people clearly know a lot more about this game than I do. There we are.

"He should have won way before now. I think the right term for him is enigmatic – he's run perfectly well sometimes then ran terrible the next. He ran very well on his first try over hurdles at Market Rasen but he hasn't since.

"I think the first time over the trip may have helped him here too, but in truth I haven't got a clue. He's off 88, which probably made the difference. The jockey [Richard Patrick] has confidence if the horses are running well too."

Vale 'very, very good'

Dan and Harry Skelton teamed up with two winners by a combined distance of 41 lengths and their 2m3½f mares' maiden hurdle scorer Vicki Vale could well emerge into a smart talent.

She was eased down to get off the mark by 17 lengths, sporting the Sarah Faulks silks made famous by Roksana while Patrick Bullen-Smith is also involved in the exciting prospect.

"She could be anything," the trainer said. "She's a typical Westerner who doesn't set the world alight at home, so she'd slip under the radar seven days out of seven, but she's got that attitude you find from the stallion.

"When Love Envoi won at Cheltenham I texted Harry Fry and said I love the attitude of Westerners. I'd even say I bought this mare because of Love Envoi's success. She had a nice bit of point-to-point form too and she looks very, very good."

Jet Plane dominated the 3m1f novice handicap chase to strike by 24 lengths.

Lion roars

Kerry Lee broke a 166-day drought at Cheltenham on Friday but needed only four days to notch up another winner as Nemean Lion ran out a wide-margin winner of the 2m maiden hurdle.

Results, replays and analysis

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