'He’s gone and proved he’s better than average' - Sign Again beats 2-5 favourite for novice hurdle success

Sign Again took a step forward from his debut bumper fourth when beating 2-5 favourite Roman Roy in the 2m4½f novice hurdle.

The Deirdre Fallows-owned four-year-old stretched clear for a 19-length success under Lilly Pinchin.

Trainer Charlie Longsdon said: “We’ve always liked him and expected more of him in a Bangor bumper, but he had to make the running and he was green as anything. He was overpriced in this and, even though it wasn’t the greatest race, he’s gone and proved he’s better than average.”

Longsdon had trained six first-three finishers without winning in the past fortnight and was pleased to get on the scoresheet.

He said: “If they had prizes for finishing second and third, I’d be winning them all. When the horses are running well but not winning, you bang your head against a brick wall. It’s tough to take when you don’t have masses of horses.”

Feature success

Menaggio boosted his course record to 2-3 in the feature 2m3½f novice handicap chase.

The Alan King-trained five-year-old, owned by Apple Tree Stud, has a 2-2 record over fences after scoring by 11 lengths under Tom Cannon.

Placepot payout

Placepot punters had to pick all six winners on the card, with each race having four or fewer runners, and the dividend paid £954.30 to a £1 stake.

Jennie Candlish trained the two winning favourites in 2-7 selling hurdle scorer Matchless and 5-6 handicap hurdle winner Magical Arthur, with the latter continuing the excellent form of conditional Lewis Saunders.

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.