Ascot and Newbury have lost big Betfair sponsorships but Chris Giles is a reminder that less can be more
Crambo returns to winning form on a card where Ascot decided to give and take on the prize-money front
Chris Giles is proving to be a fine advertisement for what a dispersal sale can do for a person.
It was as recently as July that he sold 11 horses for a combined total of £1.9 million. That left him with an involvement in just two British-based jumpers. One of them, Il Ridoto, last month lifted the Paddy Power Gold Cup. The other, Crambo, is now a back-to-back winner of the Howden Long Walk Hurdle after edging out Hiddenvalley Lake and Beauport in a thrilling finish.
Victory for Crambo, so disappointing at the Cheltenham and Aintree spring festivals, left trainer Fergal O'Brien in tears. Giles was rather more composed, as he was when Regent's Stroll cruised home in new colours on his Newbury reappearance. The thrillingly exciting five-year-old has superstar potential, as one might expect of a youngster sold for £660,000. His former owner, however, is more than happy with what he has got.
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