Gregarious loving life at Sandown

Gregarious made it two wins from as many visits to Sandown when he made all of the running to land the Matchbook Betting Exchange Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.The Lucy Wadham-trained gelding added to his triumph at the Esher circuit in February with a tenacious success from the front under Leighton Aspell.Despite being pressed hard up the run-in, the 7-2 shot held off the late advances of fellow last-time-out winner Deauville Crystal by half a length.The Newmarket handler said: "He obviously likes Sandown and it is a specialist track."He is just learning with racing. He is a bit free but he is a solid jumper. Hopefully he will make a nice two-mile chaser next season."We will see how he is. We might go again as he has not been over done this year."There is a race here on the last day of the season but the chances of the ground being right are slim, but you never know how the weather is going to be in this country."Harry Fry will be hoping Minella Awards' success in the EBF Matchbook VIP "National Hunt" Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final is a sign of things to come at next week's Cheltenham Festival.The six-year-old, who was sporting the same silks as ante-post Neptune favourite Neon Wolf, opened his account on his fourth start under Rules in this Grade Three contest.Minella Awards was under pressure from a long way out, but the 8-1 chance picked off Crystal Lad towards the last flight and then gamely held off Prime Venture by a length and a quarter.Fry said: "It's a great way to lose his maiden tag."Noel Fehily was just brilliant, and it is just as well he was."We were writing him off turning out of the back, but Noel knows where the winning post is."To the credit of the horse, he picked up in the straight and kept on finding."We had campaigned him to qualify for this race. We knew he would be better in the spring."Hopefully he can go on from this and have fun later in the season."I suppose we could look at Aintree and Punchestown, even."He is more likely to go to Punchestown."