Riskintheground Claims Prestigious Perth Gold Cup

Riskintheground produced a determined late challenge under Harry Skelton to land the £34,000 Perth Gold Cup, providing trainer Dan Skelton with victory in one of Scotland's most prestigious National Hunt races.

Sent off at 9/2, the nine-year-old was given a patient ride throughout before Harry Skelton delivered his challenge after the final fence. The pair stayed on strongly to deny well-backed favourite Breizh River by three-quarters of a length in a thrilling finish to the feature race.

The victory was particularly notable as it was the gelding's first success over three miles, proving his stamina in testing conditions against a competitive field.

Speaking afterwards, Harry Skelton said: "He gave me a nice spin and saw out the trip well. He's been a great servant and this is his time of year as he loves this good ground. I expect he'll be kept on the go providing conditions remain in his favour."

Earlier on the card, Oakley Brown continued his perfect partnership with Newtown Rambler, making it three wins from three rides aboard the Adrian Keatley-trained gelding in the Perth Silver Cup.

Making virtually every yard of the running, Newtown Rambler jumped fluently throughout and never looked in serious danger as he recorded an impressive front-running success.

Brown was full of praise for his mount after the race, saying: "Doesn't he jump and what a lot of fun that was. He just loves his racing and when you get him into a nice rhythm he is very hard to peg back."

Trainer Mike Smith enjoyed a memorable afternoon by saddling a double, beginning with Betteryouthanme, who recorded his first career victory in the Sun Racing The Home of Racing Novices' Limited Handicap Hurdle under Toby Wynne.

Smith explained that the decision to drop the horse back to two miles had proved decisive.

"We brought him back to two miles as I felt he didn't quite get over two miles four furlongs in a strongly-run race here last time," he said. "He shouldn't go up for this and we'll stick to this trip for now."

The Ayrshire trainer completed his double later on the card when the well-supported Buy Some Time, sent off the 15/8 favourite, justified market confidence with victory in the Class 4 Handicap Chase under Ryan Mania.

There was further Scottish success as Scots Poet registered the eighth win of his career in the Scone Palace International Horse Trials Handicap Hurdle, giving trainer Ewan Whillans and jockey Conor O'Farrell another notable Perth success.

Scots Poet has been a remarkably consistent performer throughout his career and continues to reward connections, who first enjoyed success with the gelding after memorable early victories for the stable in 2021.

A competitive seven-race programme and an excellent crowd ensured another successful renewal of Gold Cup Day, with quality racing throughout the afternoon showcasing the strength of National Hunt racing at Perth Racecourse.

 

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