Jonjo O’Neill Jr’s talent on show again with Mister Malarky’s Kempton win

Jonjo O’Neill Jr enjoyed another big day here aboard Mister Malarky, a battling winner of the Betway Handicap Chase, formerly known as the Racing Post. The pair came home two lengths ahead of a big field at odds of 9-1.

It had been a fruitless season so far for the winning horse, though he ran to a high standard when fourth in a hot race for the RSA at the last Cheltenham Festival and did not cope well with heavy ground at Ascot last time. O’Neill, whose first big win came at this track in last year’s Lanzarote, has struck up a good relationship with the winning trainer, Colin Tizzard.

Black Corton, the 5-1 favourite, stayed on well to be second under Bryony Frost with Sametegal third. The fancied Just A Sting was an early faller.

Earlier, Solo bounded to the top of the market for the Cheltenham Festival’s Triumph Hurdle with an impressive 13-length success in the Adonis. The ex-French horse, still an entire, was making his British debut having joined Paul Nicholls from Guillaume Macaire and had enough of a reputation to send him off as the 6-4 favourite here.

His backers would have been on excellent terms from flagfall, as it seemed from a long way out that he just had to keep jumping. “I’m obviously delighted,” Nicholls said. “He showed us at home he was quite smart, but I wanted to see that sort of performance.

“Sometimes these French horses come over and you don’t know whether they have acclimatised, but he has. He has been a joy to train and does everything nicely. He is dead relaxed and did that impressively. He thrives on every bit of work you give him. The Triumph will suit him nicely.” Solo is now 4-1 favourite for the Triumph, just ahead of Goshen and Allmankind.

Wolverhampton 2.00 Surf Walk (nb) 2.30 Getariver 3.00 Longhouse Sale  3.30 Lough Derg Spirit 4.00 Birds Of Prey 4.30 Rhythm Is A Dancer 5.00 The Dancing Poet

Fontwell 2.20 Echo Watt 2.50 Grand Sancy 3.20 Thomas Darby (nap)
3.50 Black Gerry 4.20 Cobaltic 4.50 Alcala 5.20 Frenchy Du Large