Philip Rowley misses out on a Foxhunters double
Philip Rowley suffered disappointment in his bid to complete a stunning Foxhunters Chase double.
The Bridgnorth trainer won the amateur jump race at Cheltenham last month with Hazel Hill but was unable to repeat the feat with Bear’s Affair at Aintree yesterday.
The horse, ridden by Cressage jockey Alex Edwards, was pulled up early on, with British Horseracing Authority stewards reporting the horse was never travelling after an early jumping error. The 14-1 shot Top Wood finished first.
Shifnal owner John Hales, meanwhile, will see his horse Politologue bid to become the sixth dual winner of the JLT Chase at Aintree today.
Viking Flagship won back-to-back renewals of the two-and-a-half-mile Grade One better known as the Melling Chase in the 1990s - while Direct Route, Native Upmanship, Moscow Flyer and Voy Por Ustedes have all been victorious twice since.
The Paul Nicholls-trained horse notched his second top-level success when saw off Irish raider Min 12 months ago and returns at the top of his game for the rematch after filling the runner-up spot behind the brilliant Altior in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
