Cheltenham hero due at Wetherby

Winner of the 2016 Close Brothers Handicap Novices Handicap Chase under North Yorkshire-based Brian Hughes, he subsequently finished fifth to Colin Tizzard’s Hennessy and Welsh National hero Native River in the Grade One Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

It transpired Ballyalton – owned by golfer Lee Westwood’s father John – picked up a knock in that race which was enough to rule him out for the whole of last season.

“Ground permitting, Ballyalton will make his seasonal debut at Wetherby,” said trainer Ian Williams.

“The horse is in good form and has had a good time since he came back into training in July. He is now ready to take a stepping stone to something like the BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham next month.

“We are anxious to get a start into him and the hurdles’ handicapper has been fair, which gives us the opportunity to go for a race like this.”

He could meet Brian Ellison’s Seamour who has been competing in the Flat’s top handicaps and who won his only two starts over hurdles to date in 2014.

“Seamour will run at Wetherby provided the ground is OK,” said the Malton trainer.

“He’s been a bit disappointing this year on the Flat. He hasn’t been showing the toe in his races that he had last year and we hope the switch back to hurdles will gee him up a bit and get his head back on the job.

“We will see how he goes, but I don’t think we will stay hurdling if it doesn’t look like he will be very useful. If he looks good, we will.”

As the National Hunt season accelerates, dual Grade One-winning hurdler Finian’s Oscar ran out a wide-margin winner on his chasing debut at Chepstow for Yorkshire-born owner Alan Potts, trainer Colin Tizzard and jockey Bryan Cooper.

York’s final meeting of the season saw Rebel Assault showed plenty of grit to cause a 25-1 upset in the Rockingham Stakes at York for Middleham trainer Mark Johnston. Meanwhile Hambleton trainer Kevin Ryan received some compensation for the abandonment of the Ayr Gold Cup meeting when Teruntum Star blazed a trail to win the Coral Sprint Trophy under Kevin Stott.

And it was fitting that Awesometank should win in a subsequent race for Skipton-born, Newmarket-based trainer William Haggas, and jockey Danny Tudhope – they were crowned as York’s leading trainer and rider for 2017 respectively.

Poor weather was blamed on the track attracting 349,532 spectators in the year, a minor increase on 2016 despite the Knavesmire being allotted another Saturday fixture.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s dominance was re-enforced when he saddled the first four horses home in the Newmarket’s Dewhurst Stakes, one of the premier races for future stars.

US Navy Flag’s win, from stablemates Mendelssohn, Seahenge and Threeandfourpence, was O’Brien’s 24th Group One success of the year and took him to within one of the late Bobby Frankel’s world record before last night’s top-class action in Woodbine, Toronto.

In many respects, it makes it all the more meritorious that Laurens – trained by Leyburn’s Karl Burke and ridden by PJ McDonald for owner-breeder John Dance – was good enough to stop the Ballydoyle battalions 24 hours previously in the Fillies Mile.

Racing Post historian John Randall suggested O’Brien’s achievement was the most stunning clean-sweep since Yorkshire trainer Michael Dickinson saddled the first five home in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup headed by Bregawn.

He said the only comparison on the Flat in such an illustrious race in this country came in 1822 when 200-1 outsider Theordore won the St Leger for Middleham trainer James Croft who was reponsible for the first four horses.

Trainer Patrick Haslam remembered: News Page 5.