AS he heads towards claiming his first Fuller’s men’s championship, Alex Edwards rode a winner on Saturday at Dingley where six of the seven races were claimed by Irish-breds.

Once more joining forces with owner/trainer Philip Rowley, who has supplied him with the majority of his winners this season, Andrews landed the concluding three-runner open maiden on the six-year-old Milan gelding Milzipa who was having his second start between the flags for his new connections.

The bay, who had finished second at Chaddlesley Corbett late last month and had previously been trained by Nicky Henderson, was bred by Emma Jayne Gallagher out of the Alphabatim mare Money For Buttons, dam previously of the five-time winner An Cathaoir Mor. Rowley and Edwards had two other runners at this rearranged Woodland Pytchley evening meeting who both pulled up.

NEWCOMER

The earlier eight-runner two-and-a-half-mile maiden for four, five and six-year-olds was won by the Zac Baker-ridden Halloween Harry, a newcomer trained by Max Young. A 2013 gelding by Wareed, Halloween Harry is out of the unraced Be My Native mare Leteminletemout who has bred the track winners Letemgo (by Brian Boru) and Canaradzo (by Flemensfirth).

Half of the races on Sunday’s six-race card at Bratton Down were won by Irish-breds including the three-mile maiden which went to the Katherine Hawke-owned and trained 2/1 favourite Sapphire Noire. Partnered by Kieran Buckley, who had ridden the Shantou mare on her previous two starts between the flags, the bay was previously trained on the track by Hawke’s husband Nigel for whom she ran seven times, mainly over hurdles.

Sapphire Noire was bred by Corrin Stud and is a full-sister to the 2012 gelding Shantou Rock who is the winner of three hurdle races and a chase and has been Grade 2 and 3-placed over fences. Their dam, the French-bred Anabaa mare Cool Cool, is a half-sister to Butler’s Cabin, Jaamid, Heezapistol and Highest Cool among others.

KANTURK

The opening two-runner hunt race at this Tiverton Staghounds’ fixture was won by the British-bred, odds-on favourite Top Chief who provided Kanturk native Bryan Carver with his 12th winner of the campaign.

There were only two runners also in the intermediate where the 4/6 favourite Desert Roe, a nine-year-old Vinnie Roe gelding, got the better of the 11/10 shot Give Us Peace, a similarly-aged Winged Love gelding, by 11 lengths. The runner-up was ridden by the multiple men’s champion Will Biddick while 16-year-old Jack Tudor recorded his fifth success when partnering the winner for his father Jonathan.

The final meeting of the British season takes place this afternoon at Umberleigh in Devon.