The Ladbroke Hurdle
Grade 3, Ascot,
£150,000 added,
4yo plus,
2m, Class 1
Saturday 21st December 2013

QuinnBet

1 Willows Saviour 10/1
2 Ptit Zig 16/1
3 Flaxen Flare 16/1
4 Chris Pea Green 12/1
5 Ronaldo Des Mottes 40/1
NR: Swing Bowler 20 ran Distances: 4l, 7l, 3½l
TIME 3m 54.30s (slow by 13.30s)

Dan Skelton scored a major success in his first season as a trainer when Willows Saviour defied a hike in the weights to trounce the field in The Ladbroke at Ascot.

Willow's Saviour
© Racehorse Photos
Willow's Saviour

Ridden by Skelton's brother, Harry, the six-year-old rattled off a hat-trick at the bottom of the handicap at odds of 10-1.

Willow's Saviour jumped the last in front, but needed to show plenty of guts to keep Ptit Zig at bay in a pulsating finish. The runner-up is trained by Paul Nicholls, the handler's former boss.

Irish raider Flaxen Flare was third, while Chris Pea Green finished fourth.

The winning jockey said: "It's absolute magic. Who cares what happens after today - We've won a Ladbroke with him."

Dan Skelton added: "I just can't believe it. The whole day has been magic. You've got to have a plan in this job, and we had one. I didn't come with any nerves. By nature I'm a bit of a brave guy, and so is the jockey."

"It hasn't really sunk in. I've experienced big days with Paul, but it's completely different when you're doing it on your own. He sneaked in at the bottom and Harry has had a dream run. It's just fantastic.

"He had a wind op in the summer, but I can't explain the progress of the horse. I will probably put him away until the Betfair Hurdle (Newbury, February 8) and he'll get a few entries for the Festival, but the horse owes us nothing already."

Boylesports

The Ladbroke (Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle)
£150,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1
20 ran
Going: Soft (Heavy in places)

Pos
Horse
Trainer
Jockey
Weight
Starting Price
Beaten Distance
1
Willow's Saviour
D Skelton
Harry Skelton
10st 5lbs
10 - 1
Winner
2
Ptit Zig
P F Nicholls
D A Jacob
11st 12lbs
16 - 1
4 lengths
3
Flaxen Flare
G Elliott
R Johnson
11st 2lbs
16 - 1
7 lengths
4
Chris Pea Green
G L Moore
Joshua Moore
11st 3lbs
12 - 1
3 1/2 lengths
5
Ronaldo Des Mottes
D Pipe
Thomas Bellamy
10st 12lbs
40 - 1
Neck
6
Kaylif Aramis
N A Twiston-Davies
Sam Twiston-Davies
10st 9lbs
12 - 1
1 3/4 length
7
Pine Creek
J P Ferguson
D F O'Regan
10st 12lbs
14 - 1
4 1/2 lengths
8
Shotavodka
D Pipe
Mikey Ennis
11st 5lbs
25 - 1
1/2 length
9
Dan Breen
D Pipe
C O'Farrell
10st 10lbs
50 - 1
2 lengths
10
Waterunder
D Pipe
Kieron Edgar
10st 12lbs
25 - 1
1 length
11
Rolling Star
N J Henderson
B J Geraghty
11st 11lbs
15 - 2
1 length
12
Irish Saint
P F Nicholls
Nick Scholfield
11st 3lbs
20 - 1
6 lengths
13
City Slicker
W P Mullins
A P McCoy
10st 13lbs
6 - 1
8 lengths
14
Alaivan
Jonjo O'Neill
R P McLernon
10st 9lbs
33 - 1
7 lengths
15
Vulcanite
C E Longsdon
N Fehily
10st 9lbs
40 - 1
2 1/2 lengths
PU
Chatterbox
N J Henderson
D Bass
11st 4lbs
8 - 1
UR
Dell' Arca
D Pipe
T Scudamore
10st 11lbs
15 - 2
PU
Landscape
Miss V Williams
Aidan Coleman
10st 11lbs
33 - 1
Fell
Recession Proof
J J Quinn
Brendan Powell
10st 9lbs
20 - 1
PU
Totalize
B Ellison
W Hutchinson
10st 6lbs
9 - 1
NR
Swing Bowler
D Pipe
C O'Farrell
10st 11lbs
-
       

Boylesports

THE LADBROKE HURDLE ROLL OF HONOUR (1987-2012)

Run at Sandown in 2005 (January 7, 2006) and in 2004 (January 8, 2005); run at Leopardstown in January up to & including 2000

Year Winner Age/Wt Owner Trainer Jockey SP

2012 CAUSE OF CAUSES 4-10-03 JP McManus, Gordon Elliot,t DJ Condon 25/1

2011 RAYA STAR 5-10-01 Simon Munir A King W Hutchinson 12/1

2010 Abandoned due to frost

2009 Abandoned due to snow

2008 SENTRY DUTY 6-11-09 Peter Spiller Nicky Henderson Barry Geraghty 12/1

2007 JACK THE GIANT 5-11-00 Hanbury Syndicate Nicky Henderson Mick Fitzgerald 9/4F

2006 ACAMBO 5-11-09 David Johnson David Pipe Timmy Murphy 7/1

2005 DESERT AIR 7-10-09 Belinda Harvey Martin Pipe Tom Scudamore 25/1

2004 TAMARINBLEU 5-10-11 Arthur White Partnership Martin Pipe Tony McCoy 14/1

2003 THESIS 5-11-02 1961 Partnership Venetia Williams Brian Crowley 33/1

2002 CHAUVINIST 7-10-00 Bunny & Nick Roberts Nicky Henderson Norman Williamson 15/2

2001 MARBLE ARCH 5-10-11 Martin & Mary Wilson Rory SweetHughie Morrison Norman Williamson 7/1

2000 MANTLES PRINCE 6-9-12 R J McSharry Pat Hughes IRE Fran Berry 12/1

1999 ARCHIVE FOOTAGE 7-11-08 Michael Smurfit Dermot Weld IRE David Evans 25/1

1998 GRAPHIC EQUALISER 6-10-00 BRASK Syndicate Arthur Moore IRE Conor O’Dwyer 5/1F

1997 MASTER TRIBE 7-10-04 Jebel Ali Racing Stables Jenny Pitman Norman Williamson 18/1

1996 DANCE BEAT 5-9-12 Mrs E Queally Jessica Harrington IRE Anthony Powell 12/1

1995 ANUSHA 5-10-02 G A Hoggard Michael Hourigan IRE Shane Broderick 25/1

1994 ATONE 7-10-08 Robert Sinclair Bunny Cox IRE Kevin O’Brien 10/1

1993 GLENCLOUD 5-10-13 D Tierney Noel Meade IRE Gerry O’Neill 20/1

1992 HOW’S THE BOSS 6-10-02 Edward Farrell John Brassill IRE Jason Titley 20/1

1991 THE ILLIAD 10-10-13 Elizabeth Furlong Andy Geraghty IRE Pat McWilliams 7/1

1990 REDUNDANT PAL 7-11-05 P S O’Neill Paddy Mullins IRE Conor O’Dwyer 20/1

1989 REDUNDANT PAL 6-10-00 P S O’Neill Paddy Mullins IRE P Kavanagh 16/1

1988 ROARK 6-11-01 P Leeper Arthur Moore IRE Tom Taaffe 5/1

1987 BARNBROOK AGAIN 6-11-08 Mel Davies David Elsworth Colin Brown 5/2F

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