LOCAL hero Forest Dante received by far the biggest cheer of the afternoon from a bumper crowd at Catterick yesterday when he battled on bravely to record a fourth course success.

Trained only four miles from the track as the crow flies by his owner, Fred Kirby, at Whinholme Farm, Danby Wiske, Forest Dante had to pull out all of the stops to defy a last-gasp challenge from Benrajah.

Regular rider Kenny Johnson soon had Forest Dante jumping with his normal fluency at the head of affairs. When he cleared the second last it looked like curtains for the others in the three-mile-one-furlong Thompson Family Handicap Chase.

But Martin Todhunter's 2-1 favourite, Benrajah, rallied with tremendous resolve to get within sniffing distance of Forest Dante's hind quarters as the pair crossed the line.

"He gets a bit down in the dumps away from home. It's just a ten-minute drive in the horse-box, that's why he does so well here," explained a jubilant Fred.

Any doubts concerning the stamina limitations of trainer Noel Wilson's Zanjeer were quickly dispelled when the Malton-trained gelding swooped late and fast to take the opening two-mile Maiden Hurdle under cool guidance from Paul Robson.

A dual eight-furlong winner on the flat during the summer, even Noel was unsure if Zanjeer could keep on galloping over the two-mile trip.

"I wasn't certain if he was going stay or not, but he had schooled well and is a great trier. This sharp track also suited him," reported Wilson.

Fellow Malton raider, Ball O Malt, made a successful debut over fences when comfortably overhauling the 5-4 market leader, Waterspray, in the Novices Chase.

"I fancied him over hurdles last time at Cheltenham, but he bled from the nose. He's a nice big horse with plenty of scope and we'll stick to chasing from now on," revealed his jaunty handler, Richard Fahey.

Borehill Joker made the arduous journey from Kinnersley in Worcesterhire pay by outgunning previous course and distance winner, Oso Magic, on the sprint to the line in the Zetland Handicap Chase.

Partnered by the promising conditional, William Kennedy, Borehill Joker shrugged off quite a bad blunder at the final fence to take the £4,180 first prize in the two-mile-and-three-furlong contest.

Division two of the Maiden Hurdle went to shock 25-1 all-the-way scorer, Dalraith, who made the most of the huge advantage she established right from the very start.

Quick-thinking Tony Coyle shrewdly shot the hard-pulling seven-year-old mare into a long early lead, a position they maintained throughout the rest of the two-mile event.

"The saddle has slipped on two of her last three outings, so I told Tony to let her fly once the tapes went up," said winning trainer Michael Chapman, whose canny pre-race plan clearly worked a treat.

Sue Smith rarely leaves the track empty-handed and sure enough she booked her spot in the winners' circle courtesy of Pottsy's Joy, who hung on gamely to repel Tiger Talk in the closing Barton Conditional Jockey's Handicap Hurdle.

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