Hayley Turner and Flag Carrier record eventful Kempton success

‘The hedge hasn’t done very well out of it, but I was fine!’.

Persistence paid off for Hayley Turner after she bounced back from being unshipped leaving the paddock to ride Flag Carrier to victory at Kempton.

The 41-year-old was thrown off in dramatic fashion ahead of the Try Unibet’s Improved Bet Builder Handicap and the Harry Eustace-trained gelding had to be walked down to the start on his own.

Turner only got back on board her mount in the stalls and the three-year-old continued to cause her problems by pulling hard in the early stages.

However, when Flag Carrier finally settled down to business in the home straight of the seven-furlong contest, he picked up well from mid-division and went on to score by a length at 3-1.

“I think what’s happened is that he’s run with the blinkers on quite a lot and I just think it might have got the better of him today,” Turner told Racing TV.

“He’s been here before but he’s just got himself into a tizzle, so I think the guys have done a really good job of actually getting him to the start in one piece.

“I should probably give them my riding fee, because actually in the race he was a little bit keen but did it quite comfortably in the end.”

It was the first time Turner had partnered Flag Carrier, who broke his duck at the seventh time of asking, and she was happy to laugh off his unruly behaviour beforehand.

“He wasn’t the most straightforward and that’s not him generally, but he just had a bee in his bonnet today,” added the jockey.

“He still won despite that and at least I got a nice fall, because I landed in the hedge. The hedge hasn’t done very well out of it, but I was fine!”

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