Double Rush Heads One-two For Charlie Hills At HQ

Double Rush led home one-two for trainer Charlie Hills in the bet365 Handicap on Craven Stakes day at Newmarket.


A winner on the all-weather at Wolverhampton little over a fortnight back, Double Rush was a 9-4 preferred to act on his handicap launching in the hands of Jason Watson and got the better of stablemate Bob Mali by a length and a quarter.


Hills said of the winner: "He won his newbie effectively in a great time at Wolverhampton and I believe he's going to be a great, enhancing three-year-old through the season.


"A few of our horses weren't right last season, so he had a nice mark actually. He probably didn't deal with the track that well today and a flatter track will suit him much better.


"There's an important handicap at York a week approximately before Royal Ascot and we might aim him for that, but we'll see how he improves and take it step by action."


John and Thady Gosden rapidly followed up their win in the feature Craven Stakes by saddling Swiss Lightning (2-1 preferred) to take the Rossdales Maiden Fillies' Stakes in figured out style.


Double Rush winning the opening race at Newmarket on Wednesday (Mike Egerton/PA)


Making just her second start, the Lordship Stud stud-owned child of Night Of Thunder showed a remarkable attitude to come out on top in an exhilarating three-way finish.


"We gave her an experience of the racecourse at the end of last year, but it was heavy ground and she didn't like it, she was a bit weak and the jockey cared for her and she has succeeded today as it wasn't the plan and there was no pace, it was a messy race - she looked a bit chewy early on however settled into it.


"That was over seven and it really much felt like we need to remain at 7 and don't return to six and not increase to a mile, so we'll have a good look. I wouldn't desire to rush her back from that as she's had a tough adequate race, but you have got to enjoy with her.


"She revealed a fantastic mindset since she struck the front, then wasn't sure what she was meant to be doing, but she didn't offer up. Ryan (Moore, on Richard Hannon's runner-up Stellenbosch) had the rail which's a big benefit with these unskilled fillies."


Stallion Ten Sovereigns had the one-two in the concluding Watch Live Racing At bet365 Handicap as Harry Charlton's Ten Pounds (5-1) saw off Tom Clover's 5-4 preferred Fifty Nifty in the hands of Trevor Whelan.