Joe lands the Badger Ales The former Eoghan O'Grady-trained point-to-pointer Drop Out Joe reeled in Royal Palladium to win the Badger Ales Trophy at Wincanton. Charlie Longsdon's horse was held up in the rear and had plenty to do when Royal Palladium kicked a few lengths clear in the straight. However, Aidan Coleman timed his challenge to perfection and the pair got the better of Venetia Williams' horse by half-a-length at the line. A Good Skin was a further 12 lengths back in third, with the well-backed The Ould Lad disappointing on his debut for champion trainer Paul Nicholls. Winning owner Robert Aplin said: "We bought him for 35,000 guineas at the Newbury Hennessy boutique sale two years ago when Charlie said he would make a very nice chaser. "Charlie can do no wrong and it annoys me when people still call him an up-and-coming trainer. Believe me, Charlie arrived a while back and he's destined to stay at the top for a long time to come. "We were bit worried about the ground and he hated it, but Aidan gave him a great ride. He's so tough and honest, but as he's won three times over fences he can't go for a graduation chase. "He's going to go up for this and it will be up to Charlie where he goes next."
