Local hero is all heart

A Borders team lifts Scotland's richest hurdle for the second year with a gutsy six-year-old and a £1,000 purchase richly rewards a patient owner

- JENNIFER DONALD

FOR the second year running, a local yard triumphed in Scotland's most valuable hurdle race, the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle.

The gutsy Cracking Rhapsody, representing Hawick trainer Ewan Whillans and ridden by Craig Nichol, clearly loves Kelso and dug deep in the final furlong of the two-mile contest to win from the Olly Murphy-trained Alnilam (Sean Quinlan), with Old Gregorian third for Lucinda Russell, with Conner McCann in the saddle.

"He's hard as nails," said the winning jockey. "He's got a brilliant attitude - you know you'll get 100% effort from him, so he's a pleasure to ride."

The trainer, who won Kelso's feature race as a jockey 18 years ago for his father Alistair, declared himself "speechless" after the six-year-old son of Sans Frontieres landed the race back-to-back for Gretna Green farmers John and Sheila Wright.