Relief for Alan King after exciting Favour And Fortune makes successful hurdling debut

Alan King felt a mixture of delight and relief following the 2m novice hurdle in which one of his stable's brightest prospects made a successful debut over obstacles.

Favour And Fortune, who won twice last season before finishing down the field in the Champion Bumper, delivered on that promise when finishing clear of Flight Of Freedom under Tom Cannon.

"We were delighted, but also relieved," King said after the 8-15 favourite won by 13 lengths. "We've always thought he was a very good horse – it's great when they go and do it like that first time.

"He came home lame from Cheltenham, he pulled some muscles between his front legs, so you really want to put a line through that. He'd had a good summer and we've been happy with his work this autumn."

The five-year-old's sole mistake came at the second-last, but he jumped fluently overall and will have the chance to brush up on his skills before being launched into better company.

King said: "He missed the second-last a little bit but he'll learn from that. He's quite a light horse and he wouldn't want a lot of racing, so we'll give him a bit of time and find another small novice where he can carry a penalty."

On saddling his latest winner in the green and yellow silks of the late Trevor Hemmings, he added: "It's wonderful they're still around. I'm lucky, I've got three for the team and they're probably the nicest I've trained for them."

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.