Paddy Brennan targeting valuable Kelso hurdle for progressive racing club mare

Paddy Brennan rode the winner of 2m mares' novice hurdle on the card a year ago and was back in the winner's enclosure in a different role 12 months on after Leloopa justified 1-4 odds.

Brennan won the race on the classy Dysart Enos last year and Tom Broughton sealed back-to-back wins for trainer Fergal O'Brien aboard the progressive Leloopa, who runs for Brennan's racing club.

The four-year-old backed up her Hereford win last month and Brennan, who retired from the saddle in April, is eyeing a tilt at a nice prize in a few months' time.

Brennan said: "There's a valuable hurdle at Kelso in March we have in mind for her. She won even easier then I did on Dysart Enos a year ago and that's saying something."

Global stays put

Tattersalls sales manager Shirley Anderson-Jolag brought her gavel to conduct her first on-course auction after the 2m selling hurdle won by Global Esteem.

Anderson-Jolag is used to taking much more substantial bids from the likes of Godolphin and Coolmore in her podium outside the Tattersalls Newmarket sales ring and took an unsuccessful bid of 4.3 million guineas from the latter only last month.

Shirley Anderson-Jolag conducts the auction at Huntingdon

The rookie auctioneer could not get to the required bid of 7,000gns in the auction, meaning the seven-year-old remained with O'Brien.

No stopping veteran Wolf

The veterans' handicap chase was named after former course specialist Lord Sparky, who has recently been signed up as an equine ambassador for the track and will take up his raceday duties in the new year.

One of Lord Sparky's former trainers Stuart Edmunds was present to see The Wolf register his first win in 18 months for Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen in the 2m 7½f contest.

Murphy said: "You wouldn't have your last fiver on him but we kept him in training especially to run in races like this."

Focus delivered to perfection

Ben Bromley's first point-to-point winner was for James Owen and he renewed the partnership when steering Laser Focus to success by seven and a half lengths in the opening 2m4½f conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle.

Owen said: "It's Ben's first winner for us under rules and he gave him a nice ride. The owners [Pontoon Racing] have two horses with us and the other, One Big Bang, may go for a £100,000 race at Haydock at the end of the month."

Barker off the bench

Paul Barker was supposed to be in off-season mode at Nottingham but got the call-up to clerk at the Cambridgeshire track for a day in the absence of the incoming Andrew Morris. The changes were in the wake of the departure of Roderick Duncan from the role since the last meeting.

Barker said: "Andrew is going to take on the track in conjunction with Newmarket but he's on holiday this week and I was happy to come down and help. The staff tell me they're more used to floods here than a month without rain and they've done a good job to get the ground to good."

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