Fortamour notched his sixth victory at Ripon on Monday, claiming the Wilmot-Smith Memorial Handicap for the second time.
Ripon’s unique layout often favours course specialists, and Ben Haslam’s sprinter has clearly mastered the track. Having won the same race in 2021 and finished second last year, Fortamour’s performance contrasted sharply with last year’s winner, Bay Breeze, who struggled after a slow start and never improved from the back.
Kings Merchant, trained by Ed Bethell, attempted to lead from the start, but the eight-year-old Fortamour prevailed by a neck at odds of 11-2.
Haslam is now considering a return to the Great St Wilfrid later this month, though he acknowledges it may pose a different set of challenges.
Haslam noted that Fortamour loves the track and believed that he needed to be in a forward position on the quick ground, as making up ground from behind is challenging.
He explained that while they usually prefer to hold Fortamour back and let him make his move later, he was confident halfway through the race because the horse consistently maintains his pace. Haslam also mentioned that Fortamour does not qualify for the Great St Wilfrid consolation, which is for horses rated 0-80. As a result, they might have to consider entering him in the main race, although he acknowledged it could be a bit too demanding.