LENSON WILSON added the Champion Hurdle title to his Springbok success as Ricky Holloway duly dominated the Star Sports-sponsored jumps showpiece at Towcester on Saturday – one of the major events on the Derby Final undercard.

Beaten in the heats by kennelmate Shaneboy Bowie on a night the kennel suffered disappointment with the elimination of Razldazl Raidio, Lenson Wilson produced the goods on the night as he gave the track record a scare in winning the £2,500 prize comfortably.

Pacing up well, he nipped inside kennelmate Razldazl Star at the turn and went on to score by three lengths from that rival – the 2017 Grand National runner-up – in 28.40sec, with Shaneboy Bowie staying on to claim third and give Holloway a 1-2-3 in the Champion Hurdle.

Delighted to have reclaimed the title won 12 months previously by Seamus Cahill’s Ballymac Manix, Holloway praised the winner he part-owns with Stella Wilson, partner of Central Park promoter Roger Cearns, who was on hand to collect the trophy on Saturday.

A proud Holloway said: “Since October last year the kennel has won all three ‘triple crown’ races in hurdles – the Grand National (2017), February’s Springbok and now the Champion Hurdle. What more could l ask of the dogs?

“Our physio Christine Cussell plays a big part in the operation,” he added. “Lenson Wilson came back to his best when it mattered most and his time was just two spots off the clock. That’s a great run, and Christine must take a lot of the credit for the work she’s done with him.”

Crossfield Giles and Sporting Dave led home a brilliant one-two for the Seamus Cahill camp in the Star Sports English Derby Plate, as last year’s Derby-winning kennel dominated the consolation prize for those greyhounds knocked out in the early rounds of the Classic.

Quickly away, Crossfield Giles always held sway as he scooted clear to lead home his kennelmate by two lengths in 29.14sec and claim the £3,000 prize for the Crossfield Seven – Steve Bridger, Dan Catchpole, Scott Goodsir, Dave Lawrence, Peter Reed, Matt Sharp and Damian Teevan.

Innocent Times, a semi-finalist in the Derby, struck for Ireland in the English Derby Invitation A – effectively the traditional ‘Consolation final’, as Brendan Matthews’s dog sluiced home in a fast 29.02sec to win for the trainer and his sons Damien and Plunkett, who collected the trophy, while Paul Young’s Wildfire Legend led off the second bend to win Invitation B in 29.54sec.

The £2,000 Dorando Marathon went to the James Turner-trained, Hazard Syndicate-owned Maysdreamcatcher as the April 2015 bitch, a litter sister of fellow star stayer Slippy Maska, made all of the 906m trip to score in 55.91sec from Adamant Jim and last year’s winner Aayamza Breeze.

Other wins on the night were scored by Mark Wallis’s Ashakiran in the Derby Intertrack (28.11sec, 480m), John Lambe’s Affane Party (15.01sec), who was just one spot off the track record in the Derby Sprint, and Carl Perry’s Geelo Blissful (28.07sec, 480m) in the Derby Puppy Stakes.

Ninja Penny (29.42sec,480m) finished strongest to grab the Derby Bitches Stakes for the Mark Wallis camp, while the divisions of the Derby Stayers were won by Phillip Simmonds’ Ridgedale Max (41.28sec, 686m) and the Wallis-trained Garryglass Champ (41.44sec).

Two of the most popular successes came towards the end of the 14-race programme with Kevin Boon’s Shaneboy Freddie (29.28sec, 500m) making all in the Seniors Stakes and Liz McNair’s Gold Cup winner King Turbo justifying the odds in the British Bred Stakes, stopping the clock in a fast 29.00sec for the 500m.