Love Envoi sails through Lingfield ground to maintain unbeaten record

Harry Fry-trained mare first winner on Surrey track’s new Winter Million weekend.

Love Envoi maintained her unbeaten record with victory in the Winter Million Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Lingfield.

Winner of an Irish bumper for Sean Doyle, the six-year-old was bought by recently-retired jockey Jerry McGrath for GBP 38,000 in March and joined the Noel Fehily Racing Club, to be trained by Harry Fry.

Following straightforward wins at Warwick and Leicester, this represented a step up in class with several nice prospects lining up.

One of those, Rainyday Woman, was pulled up at halfway, but Nurse Susan and Mayhem Mya, a winner at Chepstow earlier this week, tracked her into the straight.

Jonathan Burke had given his mare a canny ride, though, and saved plenty, with Love Envoi (11-2) relishing the testing ground and keeping on for a two-and-a-half-length win, leaving Fry eyeing a trip to Sandown next month.

He said: “She made an error early on, but she was superb over the last two and that won the day in the end.

“She loved this (heavy) ground and it is a big asset. She just goes through it with ease. She came back in trip today and it wasn’t a concern, although she had not tried it before, but the ground brought her stamina into play.

“She liked it, whereas others would not necessarily. She is a fair size and she would probably always want a bit of easy ground.

“She will now go to Sandown for the Grade Two Jane Seymour Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle over two miles and three furlongs on February 17.”

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