Penny Max in a different class

Penny Max galloped his nine rivals into the ground at Newbury when winning the Coolmation Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase by 12 lengths.

Held up early on by jockey Noel Fehily on the outside off a slow pace, Penny Max’s jumping soon took him to the head of affairs approaching the water with a circuit to go. Ears pricked, the five-year-old led his rivals a merry dance down the back straight jumping with a clean pair of heels. He soon had his rivals strung out and a bold jump at the last ditch took him further and further clear of his nearest rival Wyck Hill.

On going that was pretty testing though officially soft, Penny Max proved himself a thorough galloper and though he jumped to his right at a couple of fences, he put up an eye-catching round of clean jumping on only his second run over fences and his first attempt at three miles.

This was an exciting performance by a novice and Noel Fehily said after the race, “He stayed the three miles really well and jumped brilliantly.”