Good day at Carlisle

Carlisle staged their first jumps season meeting of the season on Thursday and a healthy crowd was in attendance at the Cumbrian venue. The feature event was the rescheduled Listed Panoramic Hurdle which was transferred from Kempton Park and it produced a good spectacle with the improving Wilful getting the better of Grade 1 winning novice chaser Mirabad. Jonjo & A.J.O'Neill's winner won two valuable handicaps last term, including the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Eight lengths behind Golden Ace in Grade 1 company at the Punchestown Festival in the spring, the seven year old turned the tables on Jeremy Scott's mare staying on well to score by three parts of a length with the 2025 Champion Hurdle winner back in third. Wilful and Golden Ace are set to clash once again, while Mirabad seems likely to head to Exeter (6th November) for the Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup - assuming the race isn't moved to another track due to the prevailing fast ground in the West country. 

Dan Skelton hasn't had many lean days during the last few months but the champion trainer headed back down the M6 empty handed with no winners from his four runners (three seconds). High profile purchase Push The Limit could only finish third on his hurdling debut in the opening novice. Rated 103 on the Flat and off the track for 384 days, the four year old produced a few novicey leaps and could never land a blow on the all the way winner Watery Borren. Beaten in excess of thirteen lengths, he is sure to undergo more intensive schooling before we see him again. 

I am still not sure how stablemate Sytadel got beaten in the two miles handicap hurdle having travelled strongly and led jumping out. Run out of it late on, the four year old went through the race like a well handicapped youngster off a mark of 115. It will be a surprise if he can't make amends on an easy track. A twelve furlongs winner on the Flat in France, this was only his fifth career start and he should have more to offer. 

Sam England is a trainer who has done particularly well in recent years and the West Yorkshire based handler should continue to thrive under both codes. La Lolita was having her first run for the yard in division one of the 0-100 handicap hurdle and ran a lot better than her finishing position of ninth suggests. Fitted with a tongue tie and racing off a mark of 94, she was ridden patiently during the first half of the contest before making up ground on the inside approaching the hometurn. Not knocked about thereafter, the five year old was allowed to come home in her own time. She ought to be placed to advantage with that run under her belt and is one to keep an eye on in low grade northern handicaps.

Finally, according to the Racing Post website Bryony Le Clerc (Bryony Frost) rode the winner of the 2.40 at Auteuil on Thursday. An hour and a half later, she was definitely on board French raider Inner Success walking round the paddock at Carlisle before contesting the aforementioned Panoramic Hurdle. Even Wonder Woman would have been hard pressed to do both.