Evans gets due reward for sheer graft

Monmouthshire trainer David Evans (P D Evans) has been plying his trade for a good while and is amongst the hardest working racehorse trainers in Britain, sending often moderate horses to all points of the compass in the quest for winners. However, the Bank Holiday weekend saw Evans' fortunes take a massive turn for the better with two pattern race winners on either side of the Irish Sea.

Dingle View's 22/1 success in the Group 3 Go And Go Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday was the biggest winner of Evans' career, the juvenile running on bravely under a fine ride from in-form Cathy Gannon to beat Jim Bolger's classy odds-on shot Glor Na Mara by a head, the pair pulling away from the useful Big Issue from the Richard Hannon team. Who knows what he might do in horse racing Ireland in future?

Dingle View, a relatively cheap purchase at 20,000 guineas as a yearling was landing her fourth win from seven starts and seemed to show significantly improved form for the step up to six furlongs. The daughter of Mujadil is a typical Evans type, hardy and willing and has raced frequently without any obvious dip in form. Having already received some tempting offers for the filly, Evans expects her to be sold on in the near future. Who knows, she could become one of the leading Irish racing tips of the future.

As if to prove his breakthrough at the Curragh no fluke, Evans struck again at Ripon on Monday, his Bathwick Bear (16/1) booking himself a crack at the valuable Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy with a brave victory over the favourite Mayson. Racing for the ninth time in his juvenile campaign, the gelded son of Kodiak once again showed how adept his handler is at keeping his horses sweet and getting the best out of them over the course of a long season.

Evans might not be a fashionable trainer at the moment, but with results like these there is every reason to believe that owners will give home more than a second glance, now that he has proved he can win races at a higher level with inexpensive horses.