'I was shouting so loud' - trainer delighted as Devon National plan comes off

Local trainer Richard Mitford-Slade enjoyed the biggest victory of his career in the Thank You NHS Devon National with Samuel Jackson, although he admits his celebrations may not have been popular with his fellow trainers.

Mitford-Slade trains just six horses from his base 35 miles away and it was the exciting prospect Samuel Jackson, bred by his partner Lucy, who convinced him to take out a licence in 2017.

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That success was awarded initially by Samuel Jackson scoring at odds of 100-1 just 14 days into his training career, but the nine-year-old provided connections with an even bigger day at Exeter with a brave success to complete a target which had been mapped out all season.

The 4-1 favourite travelled and jumped with enthusiasm before narrowly edging ahead of Tea Time On Mars after a hard battle in the final stages of the gruelling staying test. The win continued an excellent run for in-form rider Micheal Nolan.

Samuel Jackson: a game winner of the Devon NationalCredit: Harry Trump/ Getty Images

Mitford-Slade, watching with his fellow trainers in the stands, could not hide his excitement at the intense finish, which would eventually provide him with a first winner in 440 days.

The trainer said: "It's lovely when a plan comes together. You get all nervous about it but I couldn't be more delighted. We've got plenty of support back home and I'm sure they were cheering at the TV like I was. I think I probably upset the rest of the trainers for shouting so loud.

"It was a bit of a fairytale when he won first time out [at 100-1], being a homebred by my partner and a point-to-pointer. We've got a tiny team but he's our flagbearer. I'll definitely be having a drink later."

And connections hope Samuel Jackson can capture another big handicap, with the Midlands' National pointed as his next target.

"I'd imagine the Midlands National is what we'll set our sights on," he added. "We'll see what the handicapper does and I think that'd be a nice target. The dream is still alive."

Fry drought ends

Harry Fry joked that he almost forgot what it felt like to to train a winner after he broke a 48-day drought with Momella in the Listed Mares' Chase.

This race was initially scheduled for February 14 but was abandoned due to the weather and that worked in the favour of Momella, who was given more time to recover after a below-par Warwick run.

She was in much better form here, ridden prominently by Sean Bowen and showing plenty of heart to snatch victory on the run-in.

Momella: moved to Harry Fry from Dan Skelton last monthCredit: Grossick Racing

"I was almost beginning to forget what this feels like," Fry said. "We're far from the only ones to hit a quiet spell and we never really unearthed anything.

"We were just lacking an edge and we wanted to feel our way back into it. We had a couple of seconds on Monday, a third on Tuesday and we're back in the winners now. Hopefully we've turned a corner and just in time."

Elsewhere, Seamus Mullins trained his 500th jump winner as Roko George won the bumper by a neck.

Results, replays and analysis

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