JOHNSON TAKES OPENER Richard Johnson`s switch from the abandoned Sandown fixture paid off immediately as he guided Black Dante to victory in the Haydock Park opener today.Johnson needed to be at his strongest to ensure the 5-2 favourite landed the spoils in the Annual Badgeholders Club Novices` Hurdle.Black Dante was challenged strongly by two rivals on the run-in and had to be driven out for a two and a half length verdict over Winchester.The winner was carrying the same colours as the 1986 Grand National hero West Tip and continuing a long-standing association between owner Peter Luff and trainer Philip Hobbs.'We go back a long way and I actually rode West Tip in his first race when he won a two-mile novices` hurdle at Warwick at 33-1,' said Hobbs.Black Dante, a winner of point-to-points in the West Country, will be jumping fences in due course. 'He`s still very green and we will leave chasing until next season,' said Hobbs.
