'I was very surprised' - Hold The Press makes the headlines with 100-1 victory for shocked trainer

Trainer John Jenkins was left stunned when 100-1 shot Hold The Press caused a huge shock with a convincing victory in the opening 7f handicap for apprentice jockeys.

The four-year-old had finished last in his three starts for Jenkins, but battled to success by a length under Liam Wright. He got off the mark at the 14th attempt, having been beaten in ten other starts when in the care of former trainer Robyn Brisland.

“He didn’t run too bad at the track a couple of starts ago when he was mangled on the bend,” Jenkins said. “But he looked in good order and we did hope for a good run, but I was very surprised he went out and won. 

"I don't back horses and I'll let the others do that and see if they managed to get on!"

It was a seventh Flat win of the year for Hertfordshire-based Jenkins, whose major victories include in the Bunbury Cup with Little White Lie and in the 1989 Lanzarote Hurdle and Tote Gold Trophy with popular jumps performer Grey Salute.

He added: “Our horses are running really well at the moment and we’ve got 30 horses in training. If we could get back to a good few years ago in terms of the number of Flat winners [35 in 2015] then I’d be happy with that.”

Hold The Press's win was the second major shock in two days, after 1-25 shot Doom became Britain's joint shortest-priced loser with defeat at Ripon on Tuesday.

Beckett flying

Ralph Beckett continued his red-hot run of form when Solution scored in the 2m handicap.

The three-year-old's success took the trainer's strike-rate in the last fortnight to 35 per cent.

Winning spree

Belo Horizonte backed up last week's course success when completing a four-timer in the mile handicap.

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Shock at Ripon as 1-25 shot Doom becomes British racing's joint shortest-priced loser 

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