Pilgrims Bay and James Best landed the BetBright Chase at Kempton while Cheltenham Festival hopeful Charli Parcs fell in the Adonis
PILGRIMS BAY saved the Best until last to cause a shock in the £100,000 Betbright Chase at Kempton.
Jockey James Best – a stranger to racing’s biggest days - was ice cool on the tricky 25-1 outsider.
The pair cruised up the straight. But the 26-year-old rider only dared ask his mount for his finishing effort halfway up the run-in.
Even then he thought he hit the front too soon.
Best – riding his 20th winner of the season - beamed: “It's days like this that mean so much - this is the biggest day of my career. You've no idea how much it means and how grateful I am to be given an opportunity on a day like this.
“He travelled with ease the whole way through but you can never be confident he will go through with it. I still got there too soon really but he was good and he went through with it.”
Pilgrims Bay held off Double Shuffle by half a length with last year’s winner Theatre Guide back in third.
Even after the line the winner had a trick up his sleeve dumping Best on the floor.
He added: “I'd done celebrating - I was trying to pull him up. I delivered him as late as I dare, with the fact he is so quirky, and sure enough he's dropped his shoulder. You have to expect the unexpected with him.”
The victory took trainer Neil Mulholland within nine winners of his first century.
He said: “He’s a bit of a character very much so.
“We could have gone to Exeter on Friday but we thought we would take our chance in this. A good, strong pace and a tight-bunched field suits him. Thankfully it paid off.
“I’m delighted to be able to give James Best a good winner - he’s a good lad. Hopefully people will have seen that and give him more chances.”
Runner-up Double Shuffle didn’t help his chance with a blunder a the third-last fence. He now heads to Aintree.
Trainer Tom George said: “He’ll go straight to the National. He made an uncharacteristic mistake three from home and lost momentum but he was staying on at the end. He’s an improving horse.”
Hot juvenile prospect Charli Parcs – 8-15 to win the Adonis Hurdle – had a fight on his hands when crashing out two from home. Master Blueyes came right away to give Alan King a double on the card.
Mysteree gave Michael Scudamore another big-race victory when taking Newcastle’s Eider Chase under Robbie Dunne.
The trainer had celebrated his 33rd birthday on Friday by winning Exeter’s Devon National with Kingswell Theatre.
The day didn't go so well for Barry Geraghty.
Following his fall on Charli Parcs, Geraghty was sent to hospital and found to have a partially collapsed lung and a cracked rib.
Despite these injuries, Geraghty is "hopeful" he will be able to ride at the Cheltenham Festival.
Speaking on www.attheraces.com on Saturday evening, Geraghty said: "Charli Parcs just stepped at the flight and came down. I got a bit of a kicking from Harry Skelton's horse Bedrock who was coming behind us. I was sore afterwards so I gave up the rest of my rides in the day.
"The prognosis is not too bad. I have a slightly collapsed lung and a cracked rib, and the doctors are hopeful that I will be back in time for the Cheltenham Festival. I'm hopeful too."
