Flavius Titus Conquers Pontefract
Flavius Titus gave his owners a great day out at Pontefract yesterday when following up his 2nd place at Ripon eight days ago with an emphatic 3 length win over 6f .
In fact particular credit must go to the Foster family as the wet start to the flat turf season has meant waiting for the right conditions despite Flav being ready to run, and their patience has paid off with his five starts to date this year yielding a win & two placed efforts.
Rowan Scott was once again in the saddle, having only ridden the 9 year old for the first time recently at Ripon. Flav dwelt at the start (as is customary!) and was in the rear in the early stages, but he’s adopted these habits often enough in the four years that he’s been in the yard (and over a total 56 race career) for no-one to panic…..
He began to make headway on the outer of the field and, once Rowan really got to work over 1f out, the pair soon made headway to lead inside the final 110 yards and win going away.
Flav’s win capped off a good three days for the yard after a couple of trips to the place spots in the beautiful York Racecourse winners enclosure.
First up in the Friday evening sunshine was Bowman who ran in the 0-80 handicap over 7f. Ridden by Sam James, the gelding was keen in the early stages but Sam kept a cool head and had Bowman prominent for much of the race. Although he could give no extra in the final 110 yards he finished 3rd beaten only a length & a quarter. It was a brilliant performance from the 6 year old and everyone who was there to support him was thoroughly delighted.
Next up the following day was Woobay who was the conveyance of James Bowen in the Sky Bet “Nunthorpe Jump Jockeys” Handicap; a spectacle of 18 runners in a mad dash over 5 furlongs piloted by jockeys more used to having at least 2 miles to make decisions. Not only was coming out of stalls a rarity for most of them, so was the sheer speed at which they went from A to B – luckily it was in a straight line!
Despite being slowly away and then meeting a few traffic problems, James eventually found a gap and the mare finished strongly to pass the post in 4th beaten only a length in total.
It must have been some buzz for all the jockeys and certainly well out of their comfort zone, but once James has had time to reflect on what actually happened he will surely realise how much he enjoyed it!
Special appreciation also goes to Kevin & Pippa – three runners in three days means a busy time for a small team and everyone more than played their part.