THE yard of Byton trainer Kerry Lee is beginning to strike form now the softer going is beginning to come to the fore and she struck form at Ludlow races last Monday with the win of Gino Trail in the GC Richards Ltd Novices Chase.

But the win was not without incident.

Partnered by Jamie Moore, Gino Trail bolted on the way to the start leaving connections pondering a withdrawal from the race.

As this was developing, the favourite Roadie Joe was injured at the start and was withdrawn, thereby prompting Lee and Moore to once again persuade the reluctant Gino Trail to get to post for the now only a three-runner race.

Once agreeing to participate, Gino Trail had little trouble in landing the spoils as his nearest pursuer Ozzy Thomas fell at the fourth last and eventual runner-up Lofgren was never in contention.

A delighted Kerry Lee said: “Gino Trail is a highly strung horse as he showed today, I was here to make sure he wasn’t withdrawn.

"He has very fragile legs, so we have to be careful with him. There’s a race back here in a week’s time which we will consider if he comes out of it well,” she added.

Although only two runners went to post for the opening Racing UKHD on Sky Mares Novices hurdle, clerk of the course Simon Sherwood would have been delighted at the outcome, as his son Jack partnered the Paul Nicholls-trained Coillte Lass to an easy success and with lost his 5lb conditional jockey claim allowance.

Sherwood junior said of the 86-length win over his solitary opponent and his seventh of the campaign: “It’s going really well this year and the boss has been a really good supporter. Hopefully I can keep cracking away, it would be nice to beat my season best total of 14.”

Trainer Ben Pauling has had the high-profile injury to one of his stable stars Barters Hill recently but he had a welcome winner with that of Way Back Then in the ‘SignPeople Hereford’ concluding two-mile Bumper race.

Leading from the start under jockey Tom Cannon, Way Back Then was sent off a 13/8 favourite, and favourite backers looked in trouble as he was challenged in the home straight by the well-fancied Chez Castel Mail, but responding well under pressure Way Back Then stayed on to win by two lengths.

Connections will now consider switching the winner to hurdling rather than a follow-up Bumper race.