3 days ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Cavern Club makes all the noise in Summer Hurdle
The chestnut was last seen winning at Chester on the Flat in June, but has plenty of hurdling experience on his CV and was a good runner-up in a Cheltenham novice in November.
He started at 8-1 for his switch of codes at Market Rasen, and after a good round of jumping he reeled in Kihavah to prevail by a length and a quarter, as his stablemate Nibras Gold finished third.
'He won his last start on the Flat and that is something I quite like to do,' said Owen.
'I always thought he was well handicapped, he's just getting it all together.
'He's been second at Cheltenham and he's been running in some decent handicaps.
'On the Flat he wants a fast pace to run at, so we knew the make-up of the race would suit him. He travelled well and Gavin gave him a lovely ride. That was his best jumping performance, he ran very well at Cheltenham, but probably just hit the front a bit too soon.
'He's got a lot of wins in him, this horse, we'll have a little break now and then he'll go back to Chester.
'He likes Chester and he's got owners up there, then we'll probably have a go at one of the early Cheltenham meetings.'
Owen had earlier struck with Laravie, who made it four wins on the bounce when taking the Get Best Odds Guaranteed At Unibet Novices' Hurdle under Sean Bowen.
The six-year-old arrived in Lincolnshire having taken her three prior starts by good margins, and duly added a fourth successive victory as the 4-9 favourite.
'That was good, she's a smart mare and she's obviously come here for a four-timer,' said Owen.
'The visor has made a real difference to her, we'll try to get some black type with her now in Ireland.
'She's only small but she's done very well to keep winning under a penalty.'
And Owen claimed a third win on the Lincolnshire track's flagship day, with Prince Quattro reeling in the font-running Gavin to claim the Unibet More Extra Places Everyday Handicap Hurdle as the 3-1 favourite under 5lb claimer Alex Chadwick.
Broughshane made a winning stable debut for Mickey Bowen in the Unibet Moneyback As Cash Races Handicap Hurdle in the hands of the trainer's brother, James.
Previously trained by Jonjo and A J O'Neill, the seven-year-old struck at odds of 15-8 when holding off a challenge from Adrian Keatley's Maghlaak.
'He's a chaser really, we just thought we'd give him a go here to see where we are with him,' said the winning trainer.
'His work is very good at home and we did think he'd have a very good chance.
'We'll see what we do next, we'll just enjoy today but eventually he will go back chasing.'
Bowen then teamed up with his other brother, Sean, as both took second victories on the card via Lermoos Legend, who landed the Try Unibet's Smartview Racecards Handicap Chase at 4-1.
