FAUGHAN REBEL was fastest in the heats of the TRC Health + Hygiene Blue Riband at Towcester on Wednesday on a rollercoaster afternoon for the Northamptonshire track – and the champion trainer Patrick Janssens.

Janssens landed a double with Lenson Whelan and Kilara Lion but a subsequent life-ending injury to Bockos Doomie in the second heat won by Faughan Rebel soured the day for connections and fans of the brilliant and powerful three-year-old.

Winner of the Henlow Puppy Derby and Sussex Cup during a fantastic career, Bockos Doomie was a key player in Janssens’ Trainer of the Year success.

Lenson Whelan is another star of the handler’s Thetford kennels and kicked off the competition with a fluent win, pacing up to steer clear of crowding behind to race on and win by two and a quarter lengths from Sharp Darcy (Seamus Cahill) and Troy Firebird (David Mullins) in 29.74sec.

Faughan Rebel scooted clear in the aforementioned heat two to strike for Richard Yeates, posting 29.36sec for the 500m trip which set the standard on the day. He led home Olympic champion Newinn Jacko (Ernie Gaskin) and King Axle (Liz McNair).

The traps opened early ahead of a voided heat three ‘won’ by John Mullins’ Romeo Speedy and lots were later drawn for places in the semi-finals. Night Time Hero (Stephen Rayner), Desperado Rocco (Jason Bloomfield) and Swift Lettuce (John Mullins) progressed.

The Kevin Hutton-trained Signet Ace (29.89sec) led off the second bend in heat four to score from Drumcrow Brent (Mark Wallis) and Savana Darn Hot (Diane Henry), before a loss of power in the area forced a delay before heats five and six.

Dual Category One winner Kilara Lion (Patrick Janssens) produced a show of all-round speed to catch Coolavanny Kyser (Mark Wallis) before holding Derby finalist Smurfs Machine (Seamus Cahill) by a neck in 29.93sec.

The sixth and final heat went to Newcastle’s Lightfoot Ripley (Jimmy Fenwick) who caught leader Great Eastern (Kevin Hutton) at the third bend to win in 29.79sec, with the winner’s trackmate Bramble Oliverj (Steve Anderson) qualifying back in third.

Towcester racing manager Andy Lisemore, commenting on what proved an eventful day for the home of the Derby, said: “Naturally, our first thoughts were with Bockos Doomie and connections. Everyone at Towcester wishes him a full and speedy recovery.

“The traps opening early and subsequent no-race in heat three certainly caused a headache and, although never a totally satisfactory option, a draw was viewed as the fairest way to determine the three qualifiers from that heat.

“Given the limited timeframe ahead of the semis on Sunday a re-run was, understandably, not the majority option among connections involved.

“We discussed at length the situation with the trainers and the GBGB’s chief stipendiary steward Paul Illingworth and given the ongoing make-up of the competition a draw was decided as the best course of action.”

Towcester consultant Nathan Corden added: “It does seem it’s one thing after another at the moment.

“On Saturday we had to contend with the coldest night of the year, and a frozen track caused a postponement, and then today we had Bockos Doomie’s injury, a mechanical fault with the traps and then a power surge which knocked out Towcester TV just before the fifth heat.

“On a positive note, we received some good reports on the overall quality of Towcester TV, overseen by Steve Katz. We are on SIS for the semis on Sunday, before Towcester TV will exclusively show final night here which promises to be a high-quality affair.”

Form for Sunday’s semi-finals:

https://towcester-racecourse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SUN31.pdf