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Review of the action from Southwell on Sunday

Ben Curtis: Among the winners at Southwell
Image: Ben Curtis: Among the winners at Southwell

Kripke got off the mark at the fourth attempt with a decisive victory in the sunbets.co.uk Maiden at Southwell.

David Barron's three-year-old needed lots of persuasion from jockey Ben Curtis, but he eventually got the job done with a degree of authority.

Oisin Murphy was keen to get into a commanding position aboard 10-11 favourite Dawn Dancer and was in the lead for a long way.

But Kripke's stamina came into play inside the final two furlongs and he ended up winning by six lengths from the market leader.

Curtis said of the 15-8 chance: "He's just a big, raw horse.

"He stays well and that played to his strengths.

"I thought if I could keep on his (Dawn Dancer's) coat-tails I knew he'd stay the trip well."

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Murphy had better fortune earlier in the day when Warrior's Valley (7-2) made no mistake in the Betway Sprint Handicap.

David Griffiths' three-year-old was getting weight from the full field and ably cashed in with a two-and-a-quarter-length defeat of Silver Penny.

Griffiths told At The Races: "I've always thought quite a bit of him, but it's taken a bit of time for the penny to drop.

"Hopefully we can go on from that now."

African Trader enjoyed a much happier return to Southwell in the sunbets.co.uk Handicap.

The five-year-old was infamously disqualified from a race at this track on January 14 after trainer Ivan Furtado saddled the wrong horse.

Stablemate Scribner Creek should have been running in the one-mile handicap but he instead lined up in a seven-furlong handicap that had been pencilled in for African Trader.

The mix-up saw the British Horseracing Authority fine Furtado £2,000, but the South Yorkshire-based handler was all smiles back at Southwell as the heavily-backed 6-1 shot got up late in the piece to claim victory by a short head from Unnoticed.

Furtado said: "It's nice to see the horse win. He's a nice horse - he doesn't quicken, he just grinds on. "It's also nice for Gabriele (Malune), who has lost his 7lb claim."

Malune was, though, suspended four days for using his whip above the permitted level.

Cousin Khee gamely vindicated 9-4 favouritism in the Betway-sponsored stayers' handicap.

Runner-up Ruler Of The Nile made most of the running, but he was readily brushed aside by Hughie Morrison's 11-year-old, who took control at the one-furlong marker.

Capable 7lb claimer Theodore Ladd kept Cousin Khee honest and was six lengths too sharp as the partnership claimed back-to-back victories at Southwell.

"Every time he surprises you," said Ladd.

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