Ranch Hand made all of the running to land the chelmsfordcityracecourse.com Conditions Stakes, the feature race at Chelmsford City this evening, Saturday, March 13.
The two-mile contest is the final Fast-Track Qualifier of this season’s All-Weather Championships, with Ranch Hand (Andrew Balding) receiving an automatic place in the Betway All-Weather Marathon Championship on Finals Day, Good Friday, April 2.
Ranch Hand (4/1), who had a 3lb penalty thanks to his win in a Listed event at Newmarket in September, was sent straight into the lead by PJ McDonald. The 8/11 favourite Rock Eagle (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) followed in second, with Lucky Deal (Mark Johnston/Franny Norton) bringing up the rear.
Rock Eagle improved rounding the home turn and was on terms with Ranch Hand at the top of the home straight. The duo had a ding-dong battle thereafter and it was Ranch Hand who had just enough in the tank to prevail by a neck.
This was a third win from as many starts on the All-Weather for Ranch Hand, following two victories at Southwell in 2019.
McDonald said: “It has been a while since Ranch Hand last ran and he is an exuberant horse anyway. He was just a little excited going down to the start but thankfully we got him there in one piece.
“To be fair to Andrew, he left it down to me. He just said ‘he has a big stride and get him into a rhythm, wherever that is’. The way the horse was early on, I was happy to get my hands down on his neck to get his head down, although he still over-raced a little.
“I knew he would stay well and felt that if I could sit against him for a mile, I would be able to slowly let him stretch and get into his stride. I thought if I could get a breather into him before the bend, he would have a good chance because he is a decent horse with plenty of ability.
“I rode him in the Ebor and dropped him in fourth or fifth, and he switched off nicely. When he gets a lead in a race like that, he does drop his head, but I did not feel it was worth taking that chance in a three-runner race.”
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