Gift Nails Sales Thriller

Luck finally favoured Richard Hannon’s Penny’s Gift as she avoided trouble in running to come through under Richard Hughes and grab top honours in the £250,000 Watership Down Stud Sales Race.

The Hannon yard have produced a steady stream of juvenile winners through the year, and Penny’s Gift is undoubtedly towards the top of the tree with her second-place finishes in the Albany and Lowther.

Sandwiched in between those runs she suffered a nightmare passage in the Weatherbys Super Sprint, but there were no hard-luck stories this time as the 15-8 favourite scrambled across the line a neck and a head clear of Rosy Mantle Golden Destiny.

Hughes said: “Richard said my 1lb overweight almost cost us the race, but I said I wouldn’t have won without it and the extra strength!

“She has ran well all year but I think she was a little flat today. She is better than that and should have won easier.”

Hannon added: “The two-year-old’s have been good all year but this filly is something different.

“She is in the Cheveley Park and we might well go down that route.”