'Job done' as Yanworth wins on chase debut Dual Grade One-winning hurdler Yanworth made a successful start to his career over fences with an ultimately comfortable victory in the 188Bet Best Mate Beginners' Chase at Exeter. Alan King's striking chestnut won eight of his 10 starts over the smaller obstacles, including top-level triumphs last season in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree. The JP McManus-owned gelding was unsurprisingly sent off at prohibitive odds and while it was not entirely plain sailing, with the 2-7 favourite a bit big at a few of the early fences and not being totally fluent at the second-last, he reeled in the pacesetting Sternrubin on the run-in without being asked for maximum effort by Barry Geraghty. There was two lengths between them at the line, and King said: "It's job done and I'm pleased and relieved. He was a little bit high over the first few fences, but they weren't going very quick and I thought he warmed to his task well. "He put down at the second-last, but he'll learn from that and overall I'm quite happy with the way he managed to get to Sternrubin - who is race-fit and a pretty good horse as well - and beat him." Asked about future targets, King added: "I hadn't really looked beyond today, to be honest. I just wanted to get this out of the way. "I think there's a novice chase back here on November 15 over two-mile-three, so we might look at that, but we'll see how he comes out of this and go from there." William Hill make Yanworth a 7-1 shot to win any race at next year's Cheltenham Festival. There was a thrilling climax to the Prydis Novices' Hurdle, with McManus-owned point-to-point graduate Onefortheroadtom narrowly denying Aintree bumper winner Lalor. The Richard Woollacott-trained Lalor won three of his four bumper starts last season, culminating with Grade Two success on Merseyside, and he was the 10-11 favourite to make a successful jumping debut. He travelled powerfully and did little wrong in defeat, but found Harry Fry's £100,000 purchase Onefortheroadtom (7-1) a short head too strong in the hands of Noel Fehily. Fry said: "He's a lovely horse who had been pleasing us at home, but obviously you looked at the race this morning and it looked very competitive, particularly with the second horse in there. "We were hopeful he would run well and Exeter is a nice place to start these novices off. "It's great he's made a winning start and hopefully he's a horse with a nice future. He's only a four-year-old so we're in no great rush with him. We'll just run him in another novice under a penalty and go from there." Fehily went on to complete a double aboard Johnny Farrelly's 20-1 shot Gingili in the Download The App At 188Bet Handicap Chase and in doing so secured his 50th winner of the season. Midnight Request (16-1) made a winning reappearance in the Ilfracombe Food Service Handicap Hurdle. The eight-year-old had not been seen in competitive action since April, but showed a willing attitude under 7lb claimer James Bowen to score by two and three-quarter lengths, securing his fifth victory since joining trainer Nigel Hawke in 2014. "We're delighted to see him win again, but it is tinged with sadness as his former owner Edward Donohue died in July of this year," said Hawke. "He was pretty fit and ready for today and tracks likes this, over this trip on this ground, suit him so we were hopeful he'd run well. "He can mix and match between hurdles and fences and might go back over fences next time, but we'll see what comes up."
