Clermont lands Aintree prize after bumper sale

Bangor-on-Dee maiden winner Garry Clermont landed yesterday’s Goffs UK Spring Sale P2P Flat Race at Aintree.

Ridden by Tommie O’Brien for trainer Jonjo O’Neill, the four-year-old clung on by half a length after defying a sustained challenge from the Tom Faulkner-trained Dino Boy, the mount of Ben Jones, and a recent winner at Woodford.

In third, beaten a further one and a half lengths, was the Irish-bred Granny’s Secret, the first filly across the line, and therefore winner of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s 3-2-1 Bonus. Her owner gained an additional £1,000, although had Granny’s Secret been bred in the UK and owned by a TBA member she would have collected another £2,000. Trained by Ben Pauling and ridden by Aaron Rid, Granny’s Secret won a JRL Group point-to-point Flat race at Bangor ahead of her Aintree run.

Garry Clermont’s victory in the £10,000 race came on his first start for O’Neill, who bought the French-bred son of Maresca Sorrento at Tattersalls’ Cheltenham February Sale for £150,000. Prior to his ring appearance (pictured above) he had been trained in Warwickshire by Fran Nimmo.