Gladiateur astounds Williams as son Chester completes his first treble

Friday: Exeter

Jane Williams was unable to mask her amazement after an incredible afternoon for her and son Chester, capped by an "astounding" novice chase success by Gladiateur Allen.

The five-year-old was making his chase debut in the competitive heat and defied a messy round of jumping to snatch victory from Elixir De Nutz on the line by a nose.

Williams said: "It was an astounding race and performance. He made mistake after mistake, his nose even touched the ground at the second-last and for him to pick himself up and get back in the race with a short run-in, I'm very, very impressed. Most horses would have just given up but he kept going.

"We took on a proper novice chase expecting to come third, we just wanted to put his tricky behaviour at racecourses behind him as he's a difficult ride, but he has the will to really battle, which is critical for a chaser."

Gladiateur Allen completed a treble for Chester Williams, who claimed the opening race on the Kim Bailey-trained Voyburg before teaming up with his mother on Hermes Boy – another exciting prospect for the yard – in the novice hurdle.

"It's been an amazing day," Jane Williams said. "I don't think Chester has even had a double but he's gone and won three today. It's fantastic, we have a really strong team at home and you just couldn't be more happy with the results. We hope today is the stepping stone to bigger things."

Results, replays and analysis

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