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THOMAS GREENALL: four wins at the Melton
photo: Jackie Oliver

Thomas Greenall's first four-timer took him into pole position in the championship table, one ahead of Dave Mansell. Despite admitting that he doesn't like to make the running, Thomas found himself making virtually every yard on all his winners.

It was a memorable day for the family, because Thomas's brothers Ollie and Jake were also in winning action. Ollie made his dash from Uttoxeter to Southwell worthwhile by taking the Bumper on Roses, and Jake, whose chance was considered minimal by his father beforehand, opened his account under Rules on Pseudonym in a Plumpton Hurdle.

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"He likes to think he's in control," said trainer David Easterby of Thomas's first winner, Phenix Jack, whose owner Tom Bannister was unable to be present. Phenix Jack, who has a marked wind problem - "He was running on empty," Thomas reported, "but he's the best jumper a young rider could have," - may be heading for the August Sales at Doncaster.

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"Umberleigh, here we come!" was the Easterby response to the victory of Snake Rave in the Marie Curie Novices' Championship, a reference to the fact that distance would be no object in the quest for the title. "He fractured his knee in his last race under Rules at Sedgefield, and came as a bargain with some others from Howard Johnson," said David.

Brian Dunn, who has a half-share in Snake Rave, was sporting a tie depicting a picture of Jacqueline Coward on Charlies Memory and which he had commissioned after that horse's victory on this track two years ago.

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Unfortunately Snake Rave had only one opponent, Doctor Kingsley, to dispose of, which was extremely disappointing for a race which used to be among the most prestigious in the calendar, and which has been won in the past by some outstanding animals.

There seemed, in fact, to be no valid reason for the generally poor turnout, as the riders were all in agreement that Chris Barnett and Brian Crawford had produced good level ground with no jar and an excellent grass cover.

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Richard Armson, rider of Doctor Kingsley, also had to give best to Thomas in the second of the Conditions' races, but could count himself unfortunate, as he dropped his whip between the last two fences and his mount Sovereign Quest went down by only a head to Lou du Moulin Mas.

Difficult at the best of times, Sovereign Quest had disgraced himself prior to the race by rearing over backwards in the lorry and breaking Richard's saddle. "That saddle's been around longer than me so I've got to get it repaired," said the rueful rider.

Like Snake Rave, Lou du Moulin Mas had also had his injury problems, having broken a bone in his shoulder when falling at Cheltenham in 2007.

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The Bannister colours were also carried successfully by Sonevafushi in the Men's Open, the trophy for which was collected by Thomas's mother Lady Daresbury. David was quickly on the phone to give Tom the news, with the closing words "I'll tell her to comb her hair first!"
Sonevafushi is trained by David's sister Cherry Coward, who described her charge as "a monster. He's dreadful to tack up - he's a grump. He decides when he wants to go out, and if he doesn't, you leave him."

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"That's the good thing about Thomas - he never does anything silly at the last and always goes for a short one." David has no worries about his jockey getting carried away with victory in his grasp.

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The second match of the day, the Ladies' Open, was not without incident, the runner-up Free, on whom Gemma Hutchinson had been rowing away for some time, was in danger of losing his weight-cloth, which shifted back towards his quarters in the closing stages.

Karen Ratcliffe's home-bred Mooramana had always looked to be travelling better than his rival and was a worthy winner under Freya Hartley, for whom riding in a two-runner race was a new experience. Karen also bred the chestnut's dam Petit Primitive, a Maiden winner in 1997, and his grandam, the unraced Highmoor Scallyann.

Edmund Collins performed a soft palate operation on Mooramana in March, and he has also received some physio from Janet Ellis, having been kicked out in the field subsequently. He is ridden at home by Peter Beaumont's 11-year-old grandson Henry, and his next outing could see him partnered with another, slightly older, novice rider, Liam Bailey, nephew of former jockey Russ Garrity.

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The Novice Riders' contest at this meeting went to Tribal Venture and Olly Murphy, who is now just one point behind Matt Griffiths in the Harley Racing championship. "He's a wonderful old Trojan," smiled Olly's mother, licensed trainer Anabel King, of the grey, whose fifth success of the campaign this was, "but not in my wildest dreams could I have thought of a season like this."

Tribal Venture pulls himself up to a trot if he hits the front too soon, and Olly timed his run perfectly, taking over at the last and holding Rare Gold by a length. "He's taught me an awful lot," admitted Olly, who is joining Alan King's yard in June.

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"He got over the last and picked up like a Dyson," grinned Matt Smith after taking the Maiden on The Legal Limit, who was bought in Ireland last summer by owners Katie Thory and Tony Winchester. "He moved so well, I had to buy him," said Katie, who also trains the five-year-old. "He's a bit cheeky, and although he's quite lazy he puts in some good bucks," she added, admitting she had been on the floor a few times.

Tony has not yet reached the riding-out stage. "I hadn't ridden since I was eight," he smiled," but my daughter Hannah bought me a riding lesson for my 61st birthday last October. I go every week and I love it, though at the moment I'm having a spot of trouble with my diagonals!"

Katie and Tony now have to make the decision whether to keep The Legal Limit, or whether to send him to the sales.

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"Keep your mind on the job - horses, I mean." Caroline Bailey tries to motivate a harassed Richard Hunnisett prior to the Men's Open, in which he finished second on Cheyne.

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