Venetian off to a good start with smart bet365 Hunt Cup heat win
VENETIAN MICK, the ante-post favourite, lived up to his billing when setting the standard in the opening round of the £10,000 Category One bet365 Hunt Cup over Oxford's 650m course.
Kevin Hutton's charge was taking his record over the trip to seven wins in 11 races, although there was an early scare when he did not dominate immediately as is often the case.
Instead, he was led in heat two by Java Joan but capitalised when that rival ran off at the second bend to nip inside and take command, seeing off her renewed challenge late on by a length in 39.56sec (-30).
Other heats went to Seamus Cahill's Powerhouse Duke (39.68sec), Maxine Locke's The Other Winx (39.72sec) and Angie Kibble's Malcolm Bosh (40.04sec).
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Saturday's bet365 Hunt Cup semi-finals
