Sep 09, 2025

Race report: Tuesday 9th September 2025

David Hucker
Racing correspondent

Inside Man gave George Nympton trainer Jane Williams her first win of the season from just five runners when landing Newton Abbot’s feature race, the £15,000 Jim Swales Memorial Handicap Hurdle, from Hope Rising and Leloopa.

It’s All About You set the early pace, but was passed by Inside Man and Hope Rising approaching the second-last flight, with Leloopa hard-pressed in behind. A better jump took Inside Man clear and he repelled the challenge of Hope Rising who found the 6lb rise in the weights for her win last time just too much. This was the sixth win of the season for jockey Ciaran Gethings, substituting for the injured David Noonan.

Champion jockey Sean Bowen has been clocking up the miles as he bids to win the title for the second year running and, after winning the first two races at Perth the day before to take his score for the season to 76, was on board odds-on favourite Lord in the opening NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Awareness Juvenile Hurdle.

Lord had finished runner-up to the unbeaten Dignam over the course in July, with Manyana Blue back in third, before winning at Fontwell Park a week ago. Manyana Blue had also got off the mark when making all the running to beat Never Told Me at the last meeting, so a good contest looked in prospect.

It was Manyana Blue who set out to make the running, as she had done before, with Bowen riding a waiting race on Lord. The field was reduced early on when debutant Yellow Card unseated his jockey and the complexion of the race changed at the penultimate flight as Bowen brought Lord through to jump into the lead and quickly put the race to bed.

There was another hot favourite in the following Darnells Dash Novices’ Hurdle in the shape of dual winner Jack Hyde, not seen out since finishing fourth to She’s A Saint in a handicap at Aintree in April. That form was far better than any shown by his rivals and punters sent him off at 1/7 to win again which he did with some ease, leading all the way in the hands of Tom Broughton to come home 4¼ lengths clear of Jaminska.

Imperial Measure, the choice from three entries for trainer Evan Williams in the Happy Birthday Geoff Hobbs Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase, was backed into favouritism but, this time, punters lost their money as he could never get close enough to the leaders. The race went to 3/1 shot Just A Memory, who made a bold effort to make all the running last time, overhauling pace-setting La Quarite near the line to win by a neck.

Jack’s Jury shortened from 15/4 to 9/4 favourite to give Bowen a double in the longest race of the afternoon, the #axetheracingtax Handicap Hurdle over three and a quarter miles. He could only manage third, however, as the finish was fought out by hat-trick seeking Faded Fantasy, who drifted in the market from 5/2 to 17/2, and Hostile Hotelier, who defied top weight to win in the hands of Sean Quinlan for trainer Jenny Candlish.

Jaitroplaclasse, ridden by Charlie Price, put his chasing experience to good use when making all the running to beat newcomer Juggernaut in the Murray Group Handicap Chase and Irish point-to-point winner Axel Bleue, who had made a winning debut under Rules at Market Rasen before finishing second at Worcester, got back on the winning trail when taking the closing newtonabbotracing.com Open National Hunt Flat Race.