Racheal Kneller rides to the rescue after Twitter plea

With booked jockey Trevor Whelan unable to get to the Surrey course because his flight was cancelled, owner Vaughan Lewis took to Twitter in the hope of finding a replacement in time.

Kneller came to the rescue by dashing to Lingfield and taking the ride on the Zoe Davison-trained 10-year-old.

And it was well worth it as she landed her first success of 2019 after 35 winless rides on the Flat.

Ruacana was carrying a 7lb penalty for winning at the track a week ago – but it proved no burden. Kneller had Ruacana close to the pace set by Flaminger before leading from the third-last flight and, though that rival tried to rally, the 13-8 favourite kept on strongly to win by 10 lengths.

“That was great fun. He jumped well. He was a schoolmaster – he met everything perfect and I was just a passenger. He was an absolute superstar,” said Kneller, of Lower Penn.

“I said I ought to go jumping. I had a McDonald’s on the way here and these (higher) weights are much better!

“I had a chocolate milkshake on the way there and I’ll be having champagne when I get home!”

Kneller had ridden out two lots of horses yesterday morning and was oblivious to the plea from Lewis until she checked her phone.

Despite an hour-and-a-half drive from Lambourn, Berkshire, Kneller still had time to squeeze in some research.

She watched video replays of Ruacana’s previous runs on her phone while walking the track, and rang former jump jockey-turned trainer Jamie Osborne for advice.

“He said keep one leg either side! But then he gave me some really good advice and it all helped,” she said.

Lewis added: “She should probably take out a jumps’ licence. She gave him a peach of a ride, brilliant stuff.

“He only ran last week. He looked in good form and this ground is ideal for him. Two miles is probably a bit short, but he showed his class. It’s fantastic for the stable.

“They’ve done an unbelievable job with him. It’s great for Zoe and the team, brilliant for them.