Blue Courvoisier bowls them over at Carlisle

Blue Courvoisier benefited from a bold ride from Saffie Osborne to win the Betway Silver Bowl Handicap at Carlisle.

Not surprisingly with £100,000 on offer in a race usually run at Haydock, a hugely competitive field had assembled and Osborne elected to kick clear over three out after setting only a sedate looking pace to there.

That meant nothing that had been settled at the rear stood a chance and even those who had sat handy were unable to reel the winner in, with Langstone, a stablemate of the Clive Cox-trained winner, a length and a half away in second.

Blue Courvoisier (5-1) had chased home Andrew Balding’s Derby hope Item at Bath last season, so had the form in the book.

“I sat on this horse last year at home and thought he was a really lovely, big, impressive horse and so straightforward,” said Osborne.

“He jumped really well and I was able to get a pretty easy time of it in front. If anything, he was pricking his ears sort of at halfway and I just kind of clicked through the gears.

“He was really suited by that stiff finish and stayed the trip well, but he has a good turn of foot and a high cruising speed. He just kept pulling out more and more the further I went.”