FOR someone who briefly went out of the game with no thought of returning, Leighton Aspell has done rather well since several kind folk talked him around. There have been two Grand Nationals, for a start, and on Saturday he carried all before him at Sandown, winning on Gregarious, Shanroe Santos and Morning Reggie.

The first two came for Newmarket trainer Lucy Wadham, Gregarious making all and keeping on well to hold Deauville Crystal by half a length in the Matchbook Betting Exchange Juvenile handicap Hurdle before Shanroe Santos, held up, had a little more to spare over Masters Hill in the same sponsor’s three-mile handicap chase.