Double Rush led home one-two for trainer
in the curtain-raising bet365 Handicap on Craven Stakes day at
.
A winner on the all-weather at Wolverhampton little over a fortnight ago, Double Rush was a 9-4 favourite to follow up on his handicap debut in the hands of Jason Watson and got the better of stablemate Bob Mali by a length and a quarter.
Hills said of the winner: “He won his novice very well in a good time at Wolverhampton and I think he’s going to be a nice, improving three-year-old through the season.
“Some of our horses weren’t right last season, so he had a nice mark really. He probably didn’t handle the track that well today and a flatter track will suit him better.
“There’s a valuable handicap at York a week or so before Royal Ascot and we could aim him for that, but we’ll see how he improves and take it step by step.”