Flat season ends on high note for Queally

Wordismybond had run with promise when sixth on his last outing behind Accession at Newbury and, in a tight finish to the Warwick Christmas Party Maiden Auction Stakes, he just held on by a head to beat Enery, with Emman Bee a nose away in third.

Light Blow, owned by the Niarchos Family, was getting off the mark at the fifth time of asking in the Jumps Season Is Next Handicap.

She had shown encouraging signs on her debut behind stable companion Baisse at the course in May, but had disappointed since and only had a neck to spare over Native Colony at the finish.

William Buick is a young jockey going places and, having scored at the highest level in two races at Longchamp the day before, he took the opener here aboard Jinker Noble for trainer Clive Cox.

In some lively betting exchanges, Glen Moss, who had finished runner-up in his previous three starts, was made odds-on favourite to get off the mark this time and there was also strong market support for newcomer Desert Philosopher.

But it was Jinker Noble, who was last of 15 runners on his debut at Windsor in August, who showed marked improvement to come out on top, winning by a length.

There was a shock result to the second, the Warwickracecourse.co.uk Handicap when 16-1 shot Straboe, ridden by James Doyle for Newmarket trainer Stuart Williams, beat another outside Bateleur, who was returned at 20-1.

Odds-on favourite Comedy Act took the Warwick Claiming Stakes under Joe Fannning, completing a quick double for trainer Mark Johnston, whose Colour Vision had scored at Pontefract ten minutes earlier.

A flurry of bets on Dare To Bare in the Warwick For Weddings Handicap saw Amanda Perrett’s runner shorten from 6-1 to 9-2 just before the off, but the money stayed in the bookies’ satchels as Dr Wintringham was another winning outsider at 14-1.

There was also action the previous Thursday, when trainer Saeed Bin Suroor notched up a double in taking both divisions of the EBF “Black Sam Bellamy” Maiden Stakes for owners Godolphin.

In the first division, Asifa made virtually all the running under Jimmy Fortune to comfortably hold the challenge of Intuition by one- and-a-half lengths and, in the second, Famous Poet and Richard Hills led over one furlong out to easily account for the slow-starting Born to Surprise.

There was an exciting finish in the seventh, the Ignite Incentives Handicap, when, after a trip of one mile and seven furlongs, there was just a nose between the first two over the line, with Seaside Sizzler defying top-weight in holding off the persistent challenge of Halifax.

The course now takes a break to get ready for the new jumps season which starts on Wednesday November 2.