JOCKEY Noel Fehily was in unstoppable form at Kempton on Tuesday, winning the first four races and looking decidedly unfortunate not to make it a straight five on Drumcliff in the two-mile handicap hurdle.

Star of the show, apart from the jockey, was Henry de Bromhead’s gallant Special Tiara, who was backed down to 8/11 off a very favourable weight in the Grade 2 32Red Desert Orchid Chase and seemed to have things set up for him when Sire De Grugy, most uncharacteristically, reached for the second, blundered and deposited Jamie Moore on the floor.

Maybe Special Tiara, an admirable performer over the years, is not quite as good as before because, having led the other two at Fehily’s chosen pace, he was being urged along when Sir Valentino, closing, made a mistake two out. That settled it, but Special Tiara was all out to hold on by half a length as the runner-up came again.

“I was perfectly happy with him,” Fehily said. “He really wants a stiffer two miles and Sir Valentino is not a bad horse; he ran well in the Tingle Creek.”

It was a great occasion for owner Sally Rowley-Williams, who flew in from Florida and stood in the winner’s enclosure just a few hours later.

“The last time I was here and he was here was when he won the race in 2014,” she said with a smile. A New Yorker, Ms Rowley-Williams moved to Florida in August after 30 years in Britain.

Sire De Grugy was reported to be fine after his fall and may join stable companion Ar Mad in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot on January 21st.