Double Rush Heads One-two For Charlie Hills At HQ

Double Rush led home one-two for fitness instructor Charlie Hills in the curtain-raising bet365 Handicap on Craven Stakes day at Newmarket.


A winner on the all-weather at Wolverhampton bit over a fortnight earlier, Double Rush was a 9-4 favourite to follow up on his handicap launching in the hands of Jason Watson and overcame stablemate Bob Mali by a length and a quarter.


Hills said of the winner: "He won his amateur extremely well in a good time at Wolverhampton and I believe he's going to be a good, improving three-year-old through the season.


"Some of our horses weren't ideal last season, so he had a great mark truly. He most likely didn't manage the track that well today and a flatter track will suit him better.


"There's a valuable handicap at York a week or so before Royal Ascot and we could intend him for that, but we'll see how he improves and take it step by action."


John and Thady Gosden quickly followed up their win in the feature Craven Stakes by saddling Swiss Lightning (2-1 preferred) to take the Rossdales Maiden Fillies' Stakes in determined fashion.


Double Rush winning the opening race at Newmarket on Wednesday (Mike Egerton/PA)


Making just her 2nd start, the stud-owned daughter of Night Of Thunder showed a tremendous mindset to come out on top in a thrilling three-way finish.


"We gave her an experience of the racecourse at the end of in 2015, however it was heavy ground and she didn't like it, she was a bit weak and the jockey took care of her and she has actually succeeded today as it wasn't the strategy and there was no rate, it was a messy race - she looked a bit chewy early however settled into it.


"That was over 7 and it extremely much felt like we should remain at seven and do not go back to six and not go up to a mile, so we'll have a good look. I would not want to hurry her back from that as she's had a difficult sufficient race, but you have got to enjoy with her.


"She showed a fantastic mindset because she struck the front, then wasn't sure what she was suggested to be doing, but she didn't give up. Ryan (Moore, on Richard Hannon's runner-up Stellenbosch) had the rail and that's a huge advantage with these unskilled fillies."


Stallion Ten Sovereigns had the one-two in the concluding Watch Live Racing At bet365 Handicap as Harry Charlton's Ten Pounds (5-1) saw off Tom Clover's 5-4 preferred Fifty Nifty in the hands of Trevor Whelan.