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Grade One-winning chaser Don Poli proved a cool dude at the West Percy’s Alnwick meeting on Saturday when stepping in for a spot of baby-sitting.

Warwickshire-based Nick Pearce, who trains the 11-year-old, said: “Tom Ellis’s young horse [Give Us A Swig, who was set to make his racecourse debut] was getting a little upset on his lorry when his stablemate Kalabaloo was taken off it to run in the ladies’ open race.

“So we took Don Poli off our lorry, and put him on Tom’s to keep the youngster company. We even saddled Don Poli for his race while he was standing in there.”

It proved to be a winning formula all round.

In the picture above Don Poli (farside) under Tristan Durrell is jumping the final fence in company with Killer Crow ridden by Kit Alexander.

Read Peter Burgon’s full report from the meeting on this website and in Go Pointing later this week