Britain has a wealth of good novice jumpers if this afternoons Derby House Winter Novice Championship is anything to go by. Each of the five-strong jump-off line up produced double clears, leaving it up to the clock to decide the eventual champion.
First to jump-off Tristan Meager and Ugola B set the standard with a clear in 51.61 sec. Next in the ring Steven Franks and Mr Amati could not quite match Meagers time and were pushed into third place when Alan Thomas and Serenity flew into the lead with a 48.13 sec clear round.
Louise Glendinning and Limerick made a valiant attempt to beat Thomass time but the clock stopped at 50.66 sec. Last to go, Corinne Collins and Labuleska could have stolen victory from Thomas but it was not to be. Despite a scorching clear round, Collins was still 0.70 sec too slow, leaving Alan Thomas as Derby House Winter Novice Champion.
Corinne Collins took second place with Louise Glendinning in third.
