Haydock on radar of Ellison's star
The second-season steeplechaser showed his class when seeing off a competitive field in Wetherby’s Rowland Meyrick Chase, beating Sue Smith’s durable Wakanda by seven lengths.
Both the Peter Marsh Chase on January 21, and the following week’s Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster, are under consideration for the eight-year-old who has now won nine out of 17 career starts.
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Hide AdHowever, the Malton trainer is leaning towards the former with Definitly Red, who is owned by Tickhill-based Phil Martin.
“He’s more likely to go for Haydock,” Ellison told The Yorkshire Post.
“He’s a classy horse – he just doesn’t want fast ground.
“I was delighted with the Rowland Meyrick win – I thought the performance was top drawer.
“I’m not sure whether he will have an entry at Cheltenham, I need to speak to the owner.”
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Hide AdEllison was also fulsome in his praise of winning jockey Henry Brooke who has astonished the racing world with his recovery from life-threatening injuries, including a collapsed lung, internal bleeding and nine fractured ribs, suffered at Hexham less than three months ago.
“He’s riding four of mine at Musselburgh today,” said the trainer who is notoriously fickle when it comes to jockeys.
“He’s a good jockey. He just needs to get a bit of strength back.
“He’s a nice lad. I put him between Brian Hughes and Danny Cook in terms of style. While Brian sits quietly and Danny is aggressive, Henry is a bit of both.
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Hide Ad“After his fall, I said I would give Henry some rides and it’s working out.”
Definitly Red’s win helped Ellison record a career-best 109 winners on the Flat, and under National Hunt rules, in 2016.
It’s the third time that his stable has reached the landmark and he puts the success down to “better horses” in his yard.
Never satisfied, the personal ambitions of this proud son of Newcastle remain the same in 2017 – to win any race at the Cheltenham Festival and to land his home-town Northumberland Plate after coming agonisingly close last summer with Seamour.
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Hide AdSammy Jo Bell returned to gallops action yesterday morning for the first time in almost seven months.
The highly-rated apprentice had to spend several weeks in a wheelchair after undergoing a pelvic operation following a heavy fall at Carlisle last May.
Bell, who led a team of female riders to Shergar Cup glory at Ascot in August 2015, was unseated when Royal Duchess reared up and then fell on top of her on the way down to the start for a seven-furlong handicap. Initial examinations suggested she had escaped serious injury, but it later transpired Bell required surgery.
She was delighted to be back at Richard Fahey’s Malton base and is hoping to return to competitive action next month.
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Hide Ad“It’s good to get going again. I think I rode eight horses, so it was busy enough for my first day back,” she said.
“I’ve been off for seven months, but it actually doesn’t feel that long.
“I’ve been riding a pony at home, but today was my first time back on a racehorse since May.
“Everything felt good. My arms and legs are a bit like jelly and every horse seemed to be puling my arms out, but I think that’s normal after so long off.”
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Hide AdDavid Pipe’s La Vaticane, who defied top weight of 12st 2lb to win at Doncaster last week under Tom Scudamore, could be given a Grand National entry.
“Jumping really is her primary asset and she is sure to take a hike in the weights for this success,” said Pipe.
“She has already jumped around Aintree twice before and it is not inconceivable that she will be given an entry in the Grand National itself.”