3 minute read

Masterful Act continued his fine record at Southwell today with a gutsy success in the 12-furlong Coral Mobile Just Three Clicks To Bet Handicap, his sixth victory from seven starts at the track.

The Alan McCabe-trained seven-year-old travelled smoothly in second under Tom Queally and, after being challenged when taking the lead in the straight by 4/6 favourite Hunting Ground, stayed on gamely under pressure to prevail by a neck. Dewala finished 15 lengths further back in third, while the winning time of 2m 34.39s was less than half a second above the course record.

McCabe commented about his 5/2 winner: "Masterful Act just keeps doing whatever we ask him to do and Tom (Queally) said he is a confidence horse.

"It was billed as a match race and that's how it turned, but our horse won't lie down. There was plenty of money for Mark Johnston's horse and they are two good horses.

"I have trained plenty of good horses around here, but this horse is a monster. We will just have to sit wait for another race. Although I'm convinced he will win on the turf, conditions have to be just right for him. He wants good ground - not fast, not soft.

"He ran well in the Queen's Prize (Kempton Park, April 13), but I took him back down there and he didn't run a race at all. Then he won back here, so we will have a bit of fun with him and hopefully they will put some races on for him here.

"Tom loves the horse and said there is definitely more to come."

Horses qualify for the six championship contests on £1-million All-Weather Championships Finals Day (Good Friday, April 18, 2014) by running in a minimum of three races at Britain's All-Weather tracks - three owned by ARC, Lingfield Park, Southwell and Wolverhampton, and The Jockey Club's Kempton Park - between October 26 and April 12 or else by succeeding in one of the 16 Fast Track Qualifiers.