Jasmin De Grugy won an attrition renewal of the Virgin Bet Grimthorpe Handicap Chase at Doncaster.
A total of 13 horses were declared, but the ground was much softer than expected so five were left out and only three ended up finishing.
That was partly because Some Scope began to find the weaknesses of their rivals and soon gained a huge advantage with the field plugged into healthy spacing.
Only Anthony Honeyball’s Jasmin De Grugy (5-1) could catch him, with the perfect man riding patiently on Richie McLernon to eventually clear by 33 lengths.
“It was a fun race in the end because the horses in front were really on fire,” said Honeyball, who has recently found Town Moor to be his happy hunting ground.
“I can’t let them get too far ahead of me, but I also don’t want to go off and do something stupid.
“Richie has timed it perfectly. People might say he arrived too early, but you have to keep the leader visible because it’s hard to get there.
“He was a bit of an enigma after winning five races in a row. He came second at Punchestown but worked hard and we weren’t sure what his best work was.
“I thought the ground was gone, but we always tried to run and give him a chance. I really liked Dartmoor Pirate (Great Yorkshire Chase winner), but he was unlucky to come away last (when challenging for second).
“I didn’t expect those conditions to be right, but now we know they are, and we’re going to take a closer look at the program.”
