Emma Lavelle looks to Aintree for Rosalys following debut success

Emma Lavelle might be starting to select those that are going to represent her at next month’s Cheltenham Festival, but she already has her sights set on an outing at Aintree with Rosalys following her winning debut at Huntingdon today.

One of two runners in the race for the Wiltshire trainer, alongside 4-1 Favourite Flight Of Freedom, the 12-1 chance finished best of them all to get up late on and clinch the PHP Architects EBF Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race by three quarters of a length under Richard Patrick.

After the two-mile prize Lavelle hinted that an outing in the Grade Two Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Bumper at the Randox Grand National Festival could be on the cards.

She said: “She is a big baby of a mare. Claire (Bonner, owner) rides her every day and has done a great job with her. I think she is nice. She has got loads of filling out to do and she will be a mare for next season but what she has done already is brilliant.

“Claire has her own breaking and pre-training yard and what happens is she has a few nice mares and they come into us.

“With races being abandoned we’ve had to run them in the same race but I think they are two nice mares and I think this was a good race.

“Turning in the other mare was coming and travelling and I thought this is what I expect whereas this one was a little bit unbalanced, which I thought was fine, then she started to stay on as she has a big long stride and she just kept galloping.

“I’d say as long as she comes back and does everything you would expect that she will go to Aintree to see if we can get a bit of black type.”

Sonigino benefitted from a fine tactical ride from the front to complete a 20-1 double for Grade One winning rider Harry Cobden at the track after the 5-2 joint-favourite prevailed by a neck in the Winvic Construction Handicap Hurdle.

Cobden said of the Paul Nicholls-trained winner: “I thought we were going to get nailed coming towards the last but he stuck his neck and he probably loved the ground. It was a good, tough performance.

“I think whatever he does between now and the end of the season over hurdles will be a little stepping stone to what he does over fences as they are probably what he wants.

“It feels like he jumps quite flat and quick and I think he will be a good two, two and a half mile chaser next season.”