Racing League: Frankie Dettori denies Lingfield double as London and South extend lead | Racing news
Frankie Dettori had a winning start to his Racing League campaign at Lingfield on Thursday, but was denied a brace in a thrilling final as leaders London and The South extended their gains. their position.
Having missed the opening week of the team competition at Doncaster, Dettori became the star attraction on Monday night and shipped in at the first attempt for Wales and The West with a Milton Harris Postmark.
London and The South came in with a 46-point lead and, after a steady start, they made their mark once again with a brace on the seven-race card.
The big movers in the table are The East, lifting themselves up from last place with a win in the opening race and following that with some booked effort, adding valuable points to their overall total. .
Ireland also got their first win in the tournament but will face Newcastle in week three, live on Sky Sports Racing on August 25, following behind their six rivals.
London and South lead Wales and West by 71 points in Racing League’s third week in Newcastle on August 25, live on Sky Sports Racing
How the second week goes…
The Orient were in dire need of a quick start to Monday night, starting to finish bottom of the table after a poor performance against Doncaster, and they got it.
Rae Guest’s 14/1 shot Cry Havoc made an important run along Lingfield’s long railway under the leadership of Ray Dawson and bravely defeated London and The South’s Street Kid.
That added a huge 25 points to Rupert Bell’s team, with teammate Natural Path contributing another 15 points in third.
Bell told Sky Sports Racing: “I’m especially happy that many people will know I’m an Aston Villa fan and last week we had a shocking week, both them and the East team!
“Ray Dawson went this place well and we saw that today.
“The only way is up! We’re back at the ball game. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, Matt Chapman!”
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Eastern team manager Rupert Bell had a perfect start to the second night of the Racing League with first and third places to finish bottom of the table.
There was also a huge boost for the North in the second contest of the evening like Buckshaw Village (January 14) scored for Harrison Shaw and Richard Fahey.
The East continues its good start with Ideal Guest (January 18) finishing second and April 11 being the favorite Consensus De Vega fourth, with late race Honky Tonk Man (3/1) finishing third for Wales and The West.
Shaw told Sky Sports Racing: “It was a case of the right place at the right time. He jumped out well, picked good positions and had a very good lead.
“It’s the first time he’s appeared on this surface and he obviously loves it. It’s good to win such a good award.”
Buckshaw Village wins for The North in the second week of the Lingfield Race
It didn’t take long for the fleeing leaders to make their mark as top driver Sean Levey led home one-two for Matt Chapman’s team, with Richard Hannon’s. Immortal beauty (9/2) beat Paul and Oliver Cole’s Sunningdale (Favorite 5/2), rode by Danny Muscutt in the two-year-old nursery race.
It was Racing League number four winner for Levey, who is a hot favorite to claim a £20,000 bonus for the competition’s top driver.
Levey told Sky Sports Racing: “She did it really well, she’s a horse with lightning speed.
“She’s a bit lost but that’s one of those things with the guys from Cotai Glory. With the way the races are going, everyone wants to be a little bit lighter.”
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Sean Levey was enjoying his fourth Racing League title as Richard Hannon’s Immortal Beauty landed the nursery at Lingfield for the London and The South team
Dettori is the star attraction and got his Racing League campaign off to a perfect start with wins for Wales and the West at Milton Harris training ground Postmark (7/1).
The East’s 11/4 favorite Zenga looked great danger for a long time under Dawson but could only come second to Scotland’s Le Forban.
Dettori told Sky Sports Racing: “Milton Harris is happy, Jamie [Osborne, team manager] and my team Wales and the West have some money and some points on the board!
“Milton told me before, you’ve ridden me for six seconds in the past and never won! Now we’re giving up!”
Sean Levey takes the lead after the second week of Racing League
The manager of London and The South Chapman entered race number five, playing his first Joker card, which meant double the points for the two runners-up.
However, there were mixed results as Wales and The West went home first, with Saffie Osborne getting in on the action on Clive Cox’s Tregony (10/1).
Menai Bridge earned a substantial 36 points for second under Muscutt, with The East filling in third and fourth with Prydwen and Taravara.
It was not until the sixth race in the second week that Ireland was on the table with 18/1 Merlin’s beard lift the morale of team manager Kevin Blake.
Top driver Rossa Ryan prepared his attack to perfection, arriving late to beat The North’s Fair Star (January 16) and Yorkshire’s Qaasid (January 25).
The Orient blew their big chance to close the gap with the leaders after playing their Joker and only finished fourth with Purple Ribbon.
The top two teams in the team standings went head-to-head in the final race as Dettori set off in search of a double on February 7 beloved Country Pyle, half-sister to Pyledriver’s hero King George for the same coaches William Muir and Chris Grassick.
Danny Muscutt and Diamond Bay better explore Dettori on Country Pyle at Lingfield
When the field turned home, Dettori was on the move and looking for a long way as a winner, but Muscutt picked the right moment Tom Ward’s Diamond Bay (4/1) for finishing to win by three quarters of the length.
Zain Nights and Saffie Osborne finished third ahead of King Francis for The East.
