Emma Lavelle hails owner as Queen Antoinette scores after 826-day absence
There can't have been many owners who have earned a victory more than Claire Bonner with Queen Antoinette.
Trainer Emma Lavelle hailed Bonner's hands-on role after the mare defied a near two-and-a-half-year layoff to cause a minor 14-1 surprise in the 2m3½f mares' novice hurdle.
Making her first start since finishing third in a Worcester bumper 826 days earlier, Queen Antoinette had the race in safe keeping before understandably tiring close home to hold Drumlee Spud by a neck.
"It's just brilliant and Claire deserves a lot of the credit for it," said Lavelle. "She had done a lot of work with her before coming into us and she's done bits of work on the grass with us.
"The mare got a leg after Worcester and you have to feel she's going to come on for that as she hasn't run for so long. We'll go and try to win a novice with a penalty and if she can do that maybe we can look at something loftier."
The owner, who runs a pre-training business with husband and former jump jockey Chris Bonner on the outskirts of Lambourn, took great satisfaction from the success.
"We weren't expecting to win and I'd have been happy with a clear round, so it's pretty amazing," she said. "It was sad when she picked up the injury but it's given her the time to strengthen up physically and now, as a six-year-old, she's a big, strong mare.
"She's the older sibling of Disco Daisy, who won a bumper at Chepstow last season for us, and hopefully we'll have some fun this season. When you produce horses for a lot of people, to have something to take you to the races is a nice treat."
Bonner was familiar with the winner's spot as she used to ride in point-to-points at the track.
"I definitely had a mixed bag at Bangor; there were a couple of trips to Wrexham hospital and a couple of trips to the winner's enclosure," she said.
Big-race prep
Wordsworth, runner-up to Hurricane Lane in the Grand Prix de Paris two years ago, warmed up for a crack at the Cesarewitch on Saturday week with a dominant win in the first division of the 2m½f maiden hurdle.
Trained on the Flat by Aidan O'Brien, the five-year-old made a winning start for his new trainer David Pipe and owner Caroline Tisdall on his second run over hurdles.
"Hopefully he'll come out of the race fine as Caroline loves the Cesarewitch," Pipe said. "He's got top weight, so we'll be looking to claim off him and hopefully he can go there and run well."
Wordsworth, who drifted in the betting to 10-11 (from 2-5), was trimmed to 16-1 (from 20) for the Cesarewitch by William Hill and Betfred.
Old pals team up
Finn Lambert's past experience with Sinister Minister proved the difference as the eight-year-old finally got off the mark in the conditional jockeys' handicap chase.
Sinister Minister had been placed in five of his previous six starts and got his head in front at the 18th time of asking under Lambert, who was riding the Sheila Lewis-trained winner in a race for the first time.
"I broke him in as a store horse in his younger days at Nigel Twiston-Davies's, so I got on to my agent to tell him I knew the horse and he rang Sheila and she put me on him," Lambert said.
Milestone success
Olly Murphy celebrated his 500th winner as a trainer when Act Of Authority strolled home in the division two of the maiden hurdle.
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