Performers of the Day

The arduous drive from the far south to the Northumberland track paid off for the trainer/jockey combination of David Pipe and Tom Scudamore, with the highly promising Know the Score getting off the mark on the second attempt over hurdles.

Well beaten in the Champion Bumper last season, he finished a respectable third on his debut at Chepstow. While he was short odds to break his duck here, the gelding stamped his authority on the field to score by eight widening lengths.

It was a taking performance by Know the Score, and he is one to watch as he makes his way up the novice hurdling ladder.

Whilst the Firm ground is still plaguing Leicester Racecourse, Cotswold Way is making hay with the unseasonable ground to bring up his hat-trick in the feature race of the day.

After two wins over intermediate trips at Huntingdon and Exeter, he took his record to three from four over hurdles with a comfortable victory here, rallying under pressure to take the contest by three lengths.

A race such as the Lanzarote Hurdle might be up Cotswold Way’s street, but it can’t be ignored the flying form Philip Hobbs’ yard is currently in, operating at 25% strike rate. After the horror show of last season, it’s firmly onwards and upwards for the Philip Hobbs yard.

The All-Weather season is now in full swing, and No Nonsense put in a performance which could means he pursues higher targets this winter.

Despite being unruly at the start, the green No Nonsense had plenty in hand at the finish to gain his first career victory, denying favourite Ricochet by a length.

It looks like it could be a busy winter with the inexperienced No Nonsense, but with an authoritative performance such as today's, it would be no shock to see him end up at Lingfield on All-Weather Finals Day.

It would be classed as a standard day at the office for Brian Hughes, wouldn’t it? The ultra-talented registered a treble on the card, which was highlighted by Derriana Spirit’s victory in the mares’ novice hurdle.

In reality, she was inferior to all of the opposition on paper, and class duly told as she coasted to an all-the-way victory in the two-mile contest.

It wasn’t only an eye-catching performance from both horse and jockey, as she formed part of a double for trainer Nicky Richards.

The Greystoke-based handler has been in firing form in the last two weeks, with five winners and five placed horses from 14 runners. Just like Philip Hobbs, you need to be keeping the form of Richards’ stable in your notebook.