CARLISLE staged the latest renewal of the Colin Parker Memorial Chase on Sunday on heavy ground, and it attracted an excellent field, with the market headed at 7/4 by Kim Bailey’s Imperial Aura, the impressive winner of the Northern Trust Novices’ Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in March.

The opposition included Sam Brown (Anthony Honeyball/Harry Cobden), winner of the Grade 2 Altcar Novices’ Chase in which the challenging Windsor Park (Brian Ellison/Brian Hughes) was a faller, and Black Op was appearing for the first time since chasing home Slate House in the Grade 1 Kauto Star at Kempton last Christmas.

Ridden by David Bass, Imperial Aura tracked the pace set by Sam Brown until his bold jumping took him to the front before the home straight second time around, and he was in full command jumping the last where Sam Brown ceded second place to Windsor Park, the winner scoring by two and a half lengths and half a length. He was much improved last spring, and is an enthusiastic type both over and between his fences, with the scope to progress even beyond this impressive success.

“That was impressive, and we have to think about what to do,” was the immediate reaction from assistant trainer Mat Nicholls. “Imperial Aura is in the Paddy Power and he’d have a big weight in that but he’s a Cheltenham horse. Last year’s winner of this (Lostintranslation) went on to win the Betfair Chase, but I’m not convinced he wants to go up to three miles. He jumps better when he’s going quicker, and all options are open.”

Later in the week, writing on his website, Kim Bailey ruled out the Paddy Power and Ladbrokes Gold Trophy for Imperial Aura, and said that Chanelle Pharma Chase at Ascot and the Peterborough Chase were two options for him.

‘Class animal’ Greaneteen set for big season

AT Exeter on Tuesday, another chapter in the early-season narrative was written with the running of the Haldon Gold Cup, a race which has regularly thrown up clues to the big Grade 1 events despite its status as a limited handicap.

This year it went the way of the exciting Greaneteen (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden). The six-year-old had marked himself down as something special when placed in the Grand Annual in March despite a lack of experience, and he justified favouritism, but was made to work hard to overhaul long-time leader Moonlighter (Nick Williams/Tom Scudamore), and he prevailed by just a neck from the game runner-up, with the lightly weighted Pink Eyed Pedro running the race of his life in third for David and Connor Brace.

Winning jockey Harry Cobden pointed out that he felt his mount blew up before getting his second wind, and was very pleased in the circumstances: “He’s a class animal and Paul hasn’t drilled him at home so hopefully he’ll come on for it. He’s definitely a graded horse and he’ll probably want two and a half miles at some point. That was a good starting point.”

DECOR Irlandais, star of Noel Kelly’s Draperstown, Co Derry yard, was due to run in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby on Saturday, but was ruled out on veterinary advice. That might have been a blow for the yard, but it was softened when Kelly’s other runner, Hear No Evil, landed the opening handicap chase on the Wetherby card by nine and a half lengths under Sean Bowen.

FORMER champion jockey Paul Hanagan saw his career in doubt when breaking his back in a bad fall at Newcastle early this year, but he has come back from a long period on the sidelines, landing the Cambridgeshire on Majestic Dawn, and on Tuesday riding Anif to victory at Newcastle to bring up his 2000th winner as a jockey, joining Jim Crowley, Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore, Joe Fanning and Jamie Spencer in an exclusive group of current jockeys to have reached the milestone.