Olive Nicholls has decided to end her riding career to become assistant trainer to her dad Paul at Ditcheat.

Nicholls will step up from pupil assistant to assistant trainer for her father.

Jockey Connor Planas rode out his claim after steering U S S Charleston to victory at Yarmouth on Thursday.

Planas is in fine form at the moment after riding three winners from his past seven rides at a strike rate of 43 per cent to make it 14 winners already this season.

Charlie Appleby overcame the longest losing streak of his training career to claim the Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on Saturday with Notable Speech.

Appleby went 21 days without a winner, the worst run since he had held a licence. The tide began to turn when the Appleby stable secured two wins on Friday at Newmarket, ending a run of 28 consecutive defeats.

Donald McCain celebrated a poignant winner in the feature two miles one-and-a-half furlongs handicap chase at Bangor On Dee on Saturday as Grain D'Oudairies gave the trainer his 250th winner at the course.

It was an emotional day for McCain, who lost his mother Beryl in the early hours of the morning, with a minute's silence held in her honour before racing. She was a popular figure in the Red Rum story, with her husband Ginger training the legendary chaser to three Grand National successes in the 1970s.

By Peter Moore