Harry Derham enjoyed a welcome change in fortune when Matwana and Jus De Citron gave him a much-needed double boost at Doncaster.
The 3/1 chance Matwana looked set for second place in the Watch Unbridled On attheraces.com Fillies’ Juvenile Maiden Hurdle after odds-on favourite Belfrina forged ahead approaching the final flight but was left to come home 10 lengths clear after David Pipe’s runner fell at that obstacle.
Derham was forced to take something of a time-out after a storm in late November left his gallop unfit for purpose.
Having received help from his parents in funding an emergency resurfacing project, he admitted it had been a stressful period, but is now keen to get fully back on track.
The Boxford handler told Sky Sports Racing: “We’ve had a pretty miserable time, but first of all I hope David’s horse is OK because we were obviously booked for second there.
“We’ve had a miserable month, we had 74 millimetres of rain in something like 40 hours the week before the Coral Gold Cup, which just completely ruined my gallop.
“It was one of those things where I could either cry about it and do nothing about it, or ring my owners and explain. I did plenty of crying but the biggest thing is that all of my owners were just so supportive.
“They just said obviously this has happened and we appreciate you being up front, and get on and fix it – and we have.
“It’s nice to be back on a racecourse, nice to have a gallop and hopefully we can just put all that behind us.
“I was reading some of the write-ups about today and they said the yard’s been quiet and not having many runners, so I just wanted to tell everyone what’s happened and then I can just get on with doing my job and get the horses back on the track.”
French import Matwana had shown promise in finishing second at Hereford and then fourth behind Opec in a hot Newbury contest before now making it third time lucky since joining Derham.
The trainer added: “I just said to Nick and Ceri Fell (owners) that I’m so pleased, because it’s their first horse and first winner.
“Even if David’s horse had stood up, we were booked for second clearly and I would have been thrilled with her, she ran a fantastic race, I think that’s the best performance of her career so far.
“Obviously, we had some fortune in winning, but after the month we’ve had, I’ll take a bit of good luck.”
Derham and jockey Paul O’Brien wasted little time in building on that success when Jus De Citron took the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 British EBF ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle to give them both a double.
The 11/4 shot was making his debut for the yard after 253 days off since an Irish point-to-point outing but stayed on strongly to beat Jordans Cross by two and three-quarter lengths, despite O’Brien dropping his whip some way out.
O’Brien said: “That was grand. They went a good gallop and it was only his jumping that was keeping him in there, but then he stayed on well. I dropped my stick halfway up the straight but luckily he was genuine anyway.”
A delighted Derham added: “I feel a lot better now than I did three weeks ago, I can assure you.
“I want to say a massive thank you to all of my team at home, because I’ve not been in the greatest of humour and it’s been a very trying time. They’ve worked exceedingly hard in odd circumstances and to have a nice double today is fantastic.
“My mum and dad have also been amazing the whole way along. They are enormous supporters of me and I said to dad last night ‘I’m just never going to be able to thank you enough’. He just said you’ll thank me enough by doing what you’re doing, get on with it.
“Hopefully they’ll be pleased because mum will say I’ll be smiling today instead of being a grump.”
Derham and O’Brien were narrowly denied a treble when Pyffo was a half-length second to Super Survivor in the Sky Sports Racing Virgin 535 Handicap Hurdle.
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