Billy Loughnane shines again with Pontefract double

Fresh from opening his Royal Ascot account, Billy Loughnane began the new month in the best possible fashion with a double at Pontefract

Simon and Ed Crisford’s Magnum Opus, who had been off since April having disappointed on his handicap debut at Sandown, got the ball rolling, looking a different proposition in the bettingsites.co.uk Betting Sites Handicap.

With odds-on favourite Old Cock among the first beaten, Loughnane brought the 18-1 chance through with a smooth challenge to win going away by three lengths from Tele Red.

He later took the Wayne Conway Memorial Handicap on Roger Fell and Sean Murray’s Coloane (7-1).

For Loughnane, 18, it is all about keeping the momentum going after his wins on Rashabar and Soprano at the big meeting.

“I wasn’t sure if Rashabar had held on, thankfully he was very game,” said Loughnane referring to his 80-1 Coventry Stakes winner.

“When they called my number out, there’s no other feeling like it – it was like an electric buzz going through my body! There’ll never be another one like it, there’s only one first Royal Ascot winner. It was a great day and hopefully there’s many more to come.

“Then Soprano managed to win on Friday so to bag two in the week I was really lucky.

“What a great month it was and a great Ascot week, I’ve got a lot of people to thank and it was a dream come true riding two winners there.

“It was been a good year so far, so hopefully I can stay injury free and keep going.”

The feature Tattersalls £40,000 EBF Spindrifter Fillies’ Novice Stakes also saw an odds-on favourite sunk as Ralph Beckett’s Ardeur failed to live up to her reputation.

Instead, it was a very straightforward success for Karl Burke’s Unspoken Love (9-2), who was bought back in having won a seller at Musselburgh last time out.

Danny Tudhope was on board and said: “She broke well and that meant I was able to dictate the pace.

“I was able to get a breather into her and it’s worth its weight in gold here if you can get to the front and do that. She’s won well.

“She’s been progressing with each race but she won the race at the start today.”

Ed Bethell may have been left perplexed by the performance of Old Cock but he had a happier time of things earlier when the Rossa Ryan-ridden Cavalier Approach (100-30 favourite) obliged in the Napoleons Casino Bradford Handicap.

“He jumped and travelled well which is vital here. The blinkers had the desired effect at Ayr, but he just ran a bit gassy,” said Bethell.

“He was a bit down in grade today and I’m delighted for his owner Mr (George) Murray.

“He’s always promised to be a bit better than he has been. I definitely thought a mark of 67 was workable, we just had a little bit of a question mark about how he was training at home in the blinkers but they’ve worked today which is the main thing.”

Late Arrival (100-30 favourite) was just that in winning the Northern Commercials Order Your New Iveco Vehicle Handicap two years on from his last victory in the race.

His rider Joanna Mason pounced on the 5-2 favourite Variety Island and Dicko The Legend to win by half a length for Mick and David Easterby.