Pam Sly earned a richly deserved tonic at Towcester on Tuesday night even if the Fenland trainer was not there to see it.
A wretched winter for the Classic-winning trainer was compounded in early February when she broke her femur while unloading a horse from a box at Wetherby, but the 6/1 success of Arkaim in the opening 2m conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle could prove a hugely inspiring experience.
Sly has been confined to a wheelchair since the accident but expects to be on crutches soon which will hopefully coincide with an upturn in the fortunes of her runners.
Her partner Walter Russell said: “This will give Pam a great lift. It has been a difficult time and this was our first winner since Chicklemix at Wetherby on Boxing Day.
“We have had lots of seconds, thirds and fourths but none of them have been winning.”
If The 4.50 From Paddington is best known as an Agatha Christie thriller featuring a murder on a train, perhaps it was fitting the 4.50 from Towcester should prove equally gripping... with the official verdict of Arkaim’s victory from near all the way leader Pobs Trophy being by a neck!
Trainer David Pipe has been known to snaffle up the odd prize in Northamptonshire at this time of year and he landed a double on the card with Henok (4/1 jt second favourite) in the 2m handicap chase and Weather Babe in the 2m novices’ hurdle, both ridden by Conor O’Farrell.
There was also success for the Charlie Longsdon-trained No No Bingo (6/1) in the 2m 3 1/2f handicap chase, a victory all the more ironic as the Noel Fehily-ridden seven year-old just prevailed by a neck from the Denis O’Regan-ridden Endofdiscusion, trained by Longsdon’s near neighbour Paul Webber and owned by county based patron David Allen.
Shrewd Investment (3/1), formerly trained by Alan King under Rules, scored a runaway success in the 2m 3 1/2f maiden hunters’ chase, the seven year-old trained by Laura Thomas at Wroughton near Swindon and ridden by Josh Newman.
Fergal O’Brien has had a successful National Hunt season, his first full year with a licence, and the west country handler inspired a success for Brackley businessman Rob Rexton with Queen Of Mantua (15/8 fav) in the 2m 3 1/2f novices’ chase.
The evening’s concluding contest saw the Nicky Henderson-trained Act Four (2/1 fav) land the bumper but punters won’t have to wait long for the next slice of action as Towcester stages a Monday afternoon card next week (first race 2pm).