Kempton hat-trick for de Sousa

RICHARD Hannon had another winner on the all-weather at Kempton when Wefait won the opener at 16/1 but it was Newmarket handler Archie Watson who lifted the Listed Betfred Mobile Magnolia Stakes with Absolute Blast. Given a typically powerful ride by Luke Morris, the Kodiac mare beat John Gosden’s Linguistic by a neck. She is around 7/1 for Lingfield’s Middle-Distance Final later this month.

Otherwise the star of the show was Silvestre de Sousa, who completed a hat-trick on Hakam, Big Country and Jacob Cats, the first two of them for in-form Rutland trainer Michael Appleby. The 4/1 favourite Big Country was winning the famous old Rosebery Handicap, worth a handy £29,000 to The Horse Watchers syndicate.

Josephine Gordon can be expected to make a real go of her opportunities for Godolphin and took the maiden fillies’ event on Arabian Hope, who cruised home at even money.

Williams at Ascot

THIS has been trainer Ian Williams’ best National Hunt campaign for quite some time and he Ianded the Mitie Events & Leisure Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Ascot on Sunday with So Celebre. Still on the ‘dark’ side, the Peintre Celebre four-year-old picked these off quite readily under Jamie Moore and has a future.

Nicky Henderson won the maiden hurdle with favourite Tales Of The Tweed but Paul Nicholls hit back with Present Man and San Benedeto.

The title race will probably go down to the wire.