Notes from Towcester

Glinton put up an excellent performance to carry top weight to victory in the first. The Racing Post's 'In running' column suggested Glinton relished a fight more than odds on shot Warne's Way and so it proved. The winner's better jump at the last sealed the issue.

Milton Des Bieffes completed his hat trick with victory in the second. Yvanovitch was booked to win this until landing steeply and unseating his rider at the second last. We'd bet Yvanovitch at 28/1 on course and could see the best part of £150 coming our way until that moment. To be fair, the horse put himself right, but that threw the balance of decent seven pound claimer David Cullinane. That's racing.

High jinks in the next when Woodview threw Jason Maguire in front of the stands on the way to post. The horse proceeded to gallop loose for approximately four furlongs before eventually being caught and remounted. In the race itself, he was the only threat to eventual winner Fisherman Jack. After jumping the last, Woodview lost his action completely which appeared to hand a simple victory to Fisherman Jack, only for that horse to bump into the running rail on the run in and nearly unseat his rider. Woodview would have gone close had he not broken loose in the preliminaries.

The three mile novice hurdle was a tactical affair with the race only really starting in earnest off the home turn. Jason Maguire on What A Scientist stole a march by getting first run on Richard Johnson and Evelith Forrest; that proved to be the decisive move. It's not that often you see traffic problems in a three mile novice hurdle with six runners but Richard Johnson managed to find a fair bit of trouble in getting his run together.

The sun was low in the sky by the time the beginners' chase was due off; this resulted in the fences in the home straight being omitted. Runners had to weave their way in and out of the hurdles course to avoid the fences. Esprit Saint looked a couple of lengths to the good inside the final furlong but Jamie Moore took Quirino onto the running rail and got him up to win by a head in the dying strides.

The final race with 18 runners had the look of a bookmakers' benefit; in the event it was anything but with favourite Tanzanite Dawn claiming a smooth victory at 9/4.