Impek lands emotional Exeter win

Owner Jim Lewis greets Impek and winning jockey Tony McCoy

Impek won a dramatic William Hill Gold Cup at Exeter to give trainer Henrietta Knight and owner Jim Lewis their fourth win in the race in the last six years.

It was an emotional victory for Knight and Lewis, coming in the race in which their three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate died last year.

Impek, ridden by Tony McCoy, led for much of the race and won by 19 lengths.

But an incident-packed contest saw the three market leaders - Racing Demon, Chilling Place and Dempsey - all fall.

Dempsey went at the third fence, along with Green Tango, and 3-1 favourite Racing Demon parted company with Graham Lee at the next.

Under a positive ride from McCoy, Impek stretched his lead with Chilling Place, who had been the subject of a massive gamble, the only horse who looked capable of catching him.

But coming over the fourth last, just as it seemed the long-time leader would be caught, a loose horse cannoned into the side of Chilling Place and his jockey Richard Johnson was catapaulted out of the saddle.

Owner Lewis laid a wreath in memory of Best Mate at the course

Impek was then left clear to land a comfortable victory from Ground Ball.

"It was a very deserved win for the Lewis family and all the connections," said Knight.

"I'm delighted he won like he did because it will give Jim something to smile about again."

Lewis and Knight won the race with Best Mate in 2001 and with Edredon Bleu in 2002 and 2003.

It capped an emotion-sapping day for the pair, who had feared the worst when Oumeyade had taken a crashing fall at the third-last in the previous race, just yards from where Best Mate had died 12 months ago.

However, the four-year-old finally got to his feet, bringing huge cheers from the crowd.

"It was a fairly eventful day and there must be some gremlins around here," said Knight.

Meanwhile, Denman's eagerly-awaited debut over fences was also dramatic but the six-year-old pleased his many followers with victory in the Williamhillcasino.com Novices' Chase.

Denman made a hash of the ninth fence and Penzance then seemingly had the upper hand before himself making a mess of the next obstacle.

Denman, sent off an odds-on favourite, went on to win by 10 lengths, bringing up a treble for jockey Ruby Walsh and champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls.

Punters were left gasping again when OutThe Black slipped up in the last strides when seemingly certain of victory in the final strides of the Williamhillradio.com Handicap Chase.

There was shades of the famous Devon Loch incident in the Grand National as Richard Johnson's mount slithered to the ground in the shadows of the post.

The eight-year-old, trained by Philip Hobbs, emerged unscathed, but his demise handed victory on a plate to 5-1 chance Charlies Future.

---

William Hill Gold Cup
2m 1f, Exeter

1 Impek (A McCoy) 9-1
2 Ground Ball (D Hogan) 12-1
3 Hoo La Baloo (R Walsh) 7-1
Nine ran. Dist: 19, 11

---

Williamhillcasino.com Novices' Chase
2m 1½f, Exeter

1 Denman (R Walsh) 1-3f
2 Penzance (R Thornton) 6-1
3 Keepthedreamalive (D Jacob) 22-1
Six ran. Dist: 10, 5