Brigante foiled in Perth raid

Carlito Brigante was foiled as tough-as-teak mare Aneyeforaneye came late to land the Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer Novices' Chase at Perth.

The feature event of the day looked a particularly warm contest for the time of year, with 2011 Coral Cup winner Carlito Brigante usurped as favourite by strongly-supported The Tracey Shuffle, another talented hurdler.

However, the latter only made it as far as the second fence before coming to grief, seemingly leaving the way clear for Carlito Brigante to claim the spoils.

All appeared to be going well for most of the journey, with Irish champion jockey Davy Russell coaxing plenty of smart leaps out of his mount.

The pair appeared to have victory in the bag after safely negotiating the final obstacle, but he was soon treading water under pressure and 12-1 shot Aneyeforaneye dug deep in the hands of Harry Haynes to claim victory by a neck.

Jefferson said: "She did it well and the main thing with her is she jumps so well, and jumping wins you races.

"It looked a hot novice and I think it came down to her jumping really, but she's tough and she showed a nice bit of foot there from the last to get up and win.

"We had her soft palate cauterised during the summer and I think that's made a bit of a difference to her as she's finishing off her races better than she was over hurdles.

"She'll be a nice sort for those mares' qualifiers so we'll just keep tipping away with her. Hopefully if she stays sounds we'll have a bit of fun with her for the next couple of years."

Carlito Brigante's trainer Gordon Elliott did gain some sort of compensation as 6-1 shot Romanesco claimed the George Stubbs Insurance Novices' Handicap Hurdle in the hands of in-form Jason Maguire.

Rossini's Dancer galloped his rivals into submission in the Timothy Hardie Jewellers Handicap Chase.

Lucy Alexander sent the 10-1 shot into a clear lead with a circuit to run and never looked back, beating Jefferson's The Magic Bishop by 15 lengths.

There was a shock result to the Isle Of Skye 8-Y-O Blended Whisky Novices' Hurdle as Maurice Barnes-trained 25-1 shot Pas Trop Tard struck gold under Michael McAlister.

Ifandbutwhynot was all the rage in the betting beforehand, but he was a well beaten third and Pas Trop Tard beat Elliott's Beef To The Heels by two and a quarter lengths.

Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell saddled 5-1 shot Ryton Runner to win the Check Betfair Before You Bet Novices' Hurdle under Tom Scudamore, beating joint-favourite Royal Scoundrel by 12 lengths.

The application of a visor helped 4-1 favourite Hunters Belt get back on the winning trail in the Anderson Anderson And Brown Handicap Hurdle for trainer George Bewley and his jockey-son Jonathon.

The pair went on to complete a double as 7-1 shot Our Joey recorded his second course win in what looked a warm Betfair-sponsored bumper.