Market rasen races: Champion Jockey-elect Richard Johnson wins again

Timeforwest-on his way to winning at Market Rasen last week for jockey Aidan Coleman and trainer Jonjo O'Neill EMN-170304-103150002

Local trainer Nick Kent saddled two horses from his Newstead yard.

This time Bowie, with Tom Broughton up top, who won here early in March, found three too good for him in the fourth race, the £32Red Casino Hurdle and finished fourth.

The winner was Wake your Dreams (9/2), trained by Jennie Candlish and ridden by Sean Quinlan.

Kent’s Mustang On went one better than his stable companion in the opening Novices Hurdle and ran on to be third behind Louis Vac Pouch (2/5f), trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson.

The winner is a far from easy horse to ride and took a very heavy fall in the mud at Sedgefield last time out, but showed he was none the worse for it with a decent run here as odds-on favourite.

Johnson is soon to be crowned Champion Jockey for a second year running.

Some racegoers will remember the name of Box Office who was the very last horse ridden by record-breaking jockey AP McCoy before he retired two years ago.

Jockey Aidan Coleman rode the six-year-old in the fifth race, a Class 4 Handicap Chase for trainer Jonjo O’Neill.

Box Office had shown little over hurdles or fences since his big day until here at Rasen when he took control in the straight to win by five lengths. O’Neill had a double when 9/2 shot Timefowest won the second race, another handicap hurdle.

My Little Cracker (9/4) was rewarded for the long trip down from Scotland when he won the 32Red.com Mares Hurdle for conditional jockey Ross Chapman and trainer Iain Jardine.

One to watch in the Grand National at Aintree this Saturday is Vieux Lion Rouge, an easy winner at Market Rasen in June 2015.

His career advanced with a win in the Beecher Chase at Aintree last December and also in the Haydock National Trial.

He would not be the first to win modestly at Market Rasen and go on to win the biggest race of them all at Liverpool, with the Red Rum Bar at Rasen telling its own tale, while Pineau De Re trained by Richard Newland won the big race in 2014 after finishing a mere 12th in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen the previous July.

* Racegoers have another meeting to look forward to at Rasen this weekend as Super Sunday sees all enclosures open.

Adult tickets start at £7.50 when bought in advance.