Racing: Welcome winning return for Guest

RICHARD GUEST, injured in a fall from Nosam at the last Sedgefield fixture, made a winning return to the County Durham track on board the same horse yesterday.

Guest badly bruised his chest, spent a night in hospital and was removed from racecourse action for 10 days after Nosam had unseated him 16 days ago. But this time the gelding stayed on strongly to catch the hot favourite, Fen Terrier, approaching the final fence and win the Jayne Thompson Memorial Novices' Chase by seven lengths.

"That was tough. He's a really hard ride," Guest puffed. "He was my second ride back at Fakenham last week but he didn't have a tongue strap on there and gurgled.

"We put a tongue strap on him today and that helped a lot with his breathing but he still gurgled a little because the strong wind was making things very difficult."

Godolphin provides three of the four European horses invited by the Japan Racing Association to run in the Japan Cup on 29 November. Swain, Daylami and Faithful Son have all been invited to take part in the pounds 1,700,000 Group One contest, run over a mile and half at Tokyo racecourse, along with the Pascal Bary-trained dual Derby winner Dream Well.

The German-trained Caitano, fifth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, heads the list of European reserves, in front of Fragrant Mix, Luso and Limnos.

n Lord Gyllene is expected to have his first race since winning the 1997 Grand National in the next six weeks. His trainer, Steve Brookshaw, has pencilled in the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock in mid-December for the horse whose chief target this season is another attempt at the Aintree marathon.