'We took a leap of faith' - reward for James Horton as Encourageable strikes

Saturday: Thirsk

James Horton’s decision to "take a leap of faith" paid off for Encourageable as he struck in the mile handicap.

The three-year-old son of Profitable was running on soft ground over turf for the first time and denied favourite Positive Impact to score by two and a quarter lengths.

"We took a leap of faith to see if he’d go on the soft ground and thankfully it paid off," Horton said. "He can still progress, but he’s had his issues so we won’t rush him into anything if we don’t have to."

The colt is owned by John and Jess Dance, who are keen supporters of the trainer’s Bottom Yard in Middleham.

"It’s great for them. They’re here with all three kids and it’s fantastic. We’ve had to be patient with him because it’s not gone quite right this year," Horton said.

"He looked like he’d be a nice horse earlier in the season, but he scoped dirty after he ran in the Heron Stakes at Sandown. I think he’s been unlucky since then as things have not panned out, but we’re happy to get him back on track.

"We've now discovered he’s ground versatile, so it opens up a few more options. There’s a mile handicap at Ayr in two weeks, but we’ll have to see how he comes out of this."

Progressive filly

Karl Burke appears to have another filly with potential as Electric Eyes made a winning start to her career in the 7f novice.

The daughter of Siyouni looks likely to come on for the run and holds an entry in the Group 2 Dubai Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket this month.

Results, replays and analysis

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