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Walkin Out, who is set to line up in tomorrow’s Totnes & Bridgetown Races Intermediate Hunters’ Chase at Exeter (7.35), is chasing double prize money thanks to a Jockey Club bonus.

The Les Jefford-trained six-year-old, who is owned by Mr and Mrs John Dorse, won last season’s inaugural running of The Jockey Club Mares Maiden Series final at the Berkeley’s Woodford meeting, putting herself in the running to double any prize money up to £10,000 she earned on her first, second or third start at a Jockey Club racecourse. The placed horses were eligible for the same bonus up to a maximum of £5,000.

Exeter is one of The Jockey Club’s 14 racecourses, which means Walkin Out (pictured above winning The Jockey Club final under Martin McIntyre), who has yet to tackle a race under Rules in Britain, is in contention for the bonus. Another group of mares will get their turn at challenging for it when the latest renewal of The Jockey Club Mares Maiden Series final – for which eight horses have been entered – takes place at Woodford on Saturday.

Things did not go exactly to plan following Walkin Out’s victory last season, although she got back into winning form at Trebudannon in Cornwall recently. Devon-based Jefford says: “She ran at Chaddesley Corbett at the back-end of last season and boiled over before pulling up. Then she suffered with heat stroke after the race, and while that cleared up quickly we gave her a summer out at grass.

“This season we wanted to change the way we rode her. She had been running too keenly in front and was too dizzy for her own good, but we got her in mid-season so had little choice but to learn as we ran her.

“Now we’ve been working on getting her to settle at home and when she made her season’s debut at Cothelstone I said to Jake [Bament] ‘take your time, jump off quietly and see how you get on’. She finished fifth and Jake kicked himself saying he felt he had overdone the tactics. Next time out she settled nicely, handled very soft ground better than I thought and won nicely.

“The ground is now coming in her favour, because she’s a better mare on better ground. I’m hoping she goes to Exeter with a chance, and if she wins any of The Jockey Club’s bonus money that will be great.”

Les Jefford and his wife Lisa, who train Walkin Out for Mr and Mrs John Dorse  **Carl Evans