TREVOR Whelan, an underrated jockey over jumps, will be concentrating on the flat from now on. Already a valued work rider for Roger Charlton, he did his prospects no harm by winning Saturday’s Listed 32Red Stand Cup at Chester for the stable on 9/2 chance Blakeney Point.

Charlton’s placing of Blakeney Point this season has been very interesting. The five-year-old joined stable-companion Second Step in the line-up for the Group 3 Glorious Stakes at Goodwood and was gaining on him in third, the pair no match for Mirage Dancer. He then finished a very good fifth in the Ebor, appreciating the longer trip, and at first sight a mile and a half at Chester looked on the short side for him, especially as he started favourite for the Chester Cup last season.

HAPPY

However, Charlton knows him best and Whelan always looked happy in third as course regular Hochfeld cut out the running. Lugging left as he made his challenge, Blakeney Point kept on strongly against the far rail to score by a length and a half with Mistress Quickly back in third. Whelan deserves credit because Blakeney Point does not look entirely straightforward.

“He stays well and won here as a younger horse,” the jockey pointed out. “I let him go to the inside as he hangs left. He likes this soft ground.”

Charlton has been through a quiet spell but also won the six-furlong handicap at Chelmsford with 9/4 favourite Breathless Times. He has recently been putting up Adam McNamara, who is excellent value for his 3lb claim.

At one stage McNamara looked like becoming a key member of Richard Fahey’s team but there is no shortage of talented jockeys there, the name to watch out for at present being that of teenager Oakley Brown, a pony racing champion who can claim the full 7lbs.

As she continues to ride winners, most of them for the in-form Tony Carroll, Poppy Bridgwater travels further afield and makes the most of opportunities for other handlers.

She won the one-and-three-quarter-mile handicap on this Chester card on Luke Dace’s seven-year-old Ravenous, who led narrowly a furlong from home and held Baydar and Faithful Mount, both trained by Ian Williams, by a head and a nose.

The runner-up was ridden by Paul Hanagan.

Bridgwater is exceptional value for her 5lb allowance. Ravenous, who was quietly backed down to 5/1, was her eighth winner from her last 14 rides.

CONFESSIONAL AGAIN

Confessional’s professional career is considerably longer than Poppy Bridgwater’s and it will be a sad day at the yard when Tim Easterby retires him.

Allowed to start at 16/1 in the Stardust Liverpool Handicap, probably because people considered him a five-furlong horse running over six, he led inside the final furlong for Nathan Evans and won his fourth race at the frying pan circuit from 22 outings. In all, this remarkable 11-year-old has run 129 times, winning on 10 occasions.