The East maintained their spot at the summit of the Racing League after a competitive night of racing at Chepstow.
Roberto Caro got Yorkshire off to the perfect start at Chepstow with an all-the-way win on the Monmouthshire course, keeping on dourly to strike in the opener for Adrian Keatley and Joanna Mason. King Of Light and Addison Grey both came home strongly but neither were able to land a blow on the game winner and picked up the minor honours for their efforts.
The Daniel and Claire Kubler-trained Shamrock Bay extended Richard Kingscote’s lead at the top of the jockeys’ table in race two, getting the nose down to thwart Lir Speciale (North). The duo had gone clear of their rivals a furlong on a half from home after setting a strong pace, but it was London & The South’s representative who won the argument, a week after chasing home Mr Swivell in last week’s Racing League meeting at Wolverhampton.
The winning jockey, who heads to Hong Kong before the end of this year’s tournament, ended the night on 186 points – 54 clear of Danny Muscutt in the standings.
Despite the absence of Matt Chapman at the Welsh track, London & The South struck again shortly after when Great Acclaim – shouldering a 5lb penalty – roared home down the centre of the track to justify favouritism under Charlie Bishop. Mister Bluebird secured vital points for Scotland in second, with the winning team’s points supplemented by King’s Lynn who ran a solid race in third.
Yorkshire enjoyed their best week of the campaign to date, underlined by a superb one-two in race four. Cleverly manoeuvred to the far-side rail by David Allan, Flag Of St George soared home in splendid isolation for the White Rose, chased home by teammate Wobwobwob – much to the delight of Leonna Mayor.
A patient Danny Tudhope ride aboard Billie Be Quick paid dividends for Team Ireland shortly after, with Jessica Harrington’s charge quickening smartly at the opportune moment to thwart Vince L’Amour and company over the five furlongs.
Race 20 brought some much-needed joy for Wales & The West on home soil, with Beylerbeyi’s maximum points doubled thanks to an inspired use of the joker by captain Jamie Osborne. Sent off an 11-4 favourite under Eddy Greatrex, the five-year-old got upsides Ireland’s Winston Junior late on before powering on to score.
Scotland used their joker far less effectively in the finale, with Qitaal and Rogue Impact finishing a long way adrift of the East’s Crowd Quake and Salamanca City, who propelled them back to the top of the leaderboard. The former horse made all under a confident Marco Ghiani ride, with the jockey only offering encouragement two furlongs from the line.
FINAL STANDINGS – WEEK THREE
The East – 395
London & The South – 379
Yorkshire – 353
Scotland – 328
Wales & The West – 304
Ireland – 291
The North – 235
