SAVANA HEROSS heads into Saturday’s heats of the Stadium Bookmakers TV Trophy at Oxford in tip-top form after landing the Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sheffield on Sunday.

Trained by Diane Henry for Towcester, Oxford and Suffolk Downs promoter Kevin Boothby,  Savana Heross came through a terrific battle with Hurry Up Jordan (John Lambe) before claiming the £3,000-to-the-winner Category Two contest, but only after a photo-finish confirmed his narrow victory in the 660m feature on the card.

Fast away and leading into the first bend, Savana Heross soon had his rivals under pressure as the 6-4 favourite, a May 2021 son of Droopys Sydney and Blundel Spark, set a serious gallop up front. However, the always second Perry Barr raider Hurry Up Jordan moved closer down the far side and launched a challenge for the lead.

Hitting the front rounding the final turns, Hurry On Jordan took a narrow advantage in the six-bend contest into the home-straight, only for Savana Heross to rally and underline his stamina ahead of this weekend’s eight-bend bid as he got back up for a neck victory in 39.21sec (normal), with Dubai Kid (Craig Marston) crossing the line in third.

Sheffield’s director of racing Andrew Mascarenhas congratulated winning connections and was delighted to see another big crowd at the track for the traditional Mother’s Day feature.

He said: “Well done to Diane Henry and Savana Heross, who showed his obvious liking for the Sheffield circuit by winning the Queen Mother Memorial Cup and clearly goes into the TV Trophy in great heart.

“He stayed on the strongest to tag Hurry Up Jordan on the winning line to complete an unbeaten run is this year’s Queen Mother Cup, the pair finishing well clear of the other finalists after fifth-bend crowding behind.

“The race was witnessed by around 700 racegoers with the restaurant and VIP boxes, plus our Rivilen Suite, packed out with families on Mother’s Day.

“Our next big competition will be Sheffield’s most lucrative event, the Bresbet Gymcrack, which is for puppies and boasts a first prize of £17,500. Entries close at noon on April 3 with the heats over 500m on Sunday, April 7. The semi-finals are on Sunday, April 14, and the final on Sunday, April 21.”