Delight for Lee Edwards and Jolly Roger at Hereford Racecourse (From Hereford Times)

Delight for Lee Edwards and Jolly Roger at Hereford Racecourse

1:30pm Thursday 21st June 2012 in Sport

IT was ‘high fives’ at Hereford racecourse last Thursday as Jolly Roger, ridden by Lee Edwards completed a five-timer, with the victory being his second within a week after a win in the two-mile-one-furlong handicap hurdle.

Trained in Warwickshire by ex-jump jockey Tony Carroll and owned by Welsh sheep farmer Jason Tucker, Jolly Roger had been expertly placed and the 11/10 favourite strolled to an easy 13-length win over his 10 rivals.

“What an amazing horse,” said Tucker. “The races have dropped right for us and credit to Tony for brilliant placement.”

Tony McCoy fans left the track happy as the champion scored a double at the track with wins on Mythical Warrior and Forty Five, both for trainer Jonjo O’Neill.

The imposing Mythical Warrior, an Irish point-topoint winner, had shown little in two previous runs over hurdles but, sent out in the two-and-a-half-mile Maiden hurdle, the fiveyear- old was always travelling well and could be called the winner from a long way out.

Forty Five took the twomile- three-furlong handicap chase to complete the double.

Trainer Nigel Twiston- Davies sent out Royal Rivera to win the two-anda- half mile handicap hurdle but reporters were met by his assistant Carl Llewellyn in the winner’s enclosure.

It transpired the Grand National winning jockey, now assisting Twiston- Davies, had volunteered to attend the meeting so that he could stay on after racing for the course’s after-racing concert featuring The Wurzels.

Llewellyn confirmed, however, that he was old enough to remember the band and their hits first time around.