ACTION on the track at Hereford Racecourse focused on the attempt by champion jockey Tony McCoy to reach his fastest seasonal century but he endured a mixed day with four seconds, relieved by two winners on the last two races on the card.

First of those was Leading Optimist, trained by Martin Pipe, which was a comprehensive 10-length winner of the three-mile staying hurdle. The style of the six-year-old's win under top weight of 11 st 10 lbs was enough to suggest he could once again defy top weight on his next run.

McCoy followed this up with a vigorous ride aboard Ela Agori Mou who scored by three lengths over the Richard Price trained Legal Native in the concluding Bumper at 8/11.

This win left McCoy five short of his century.

Richard Johnson kept up his good strike rate when he took the opening novice hurdle by a head on The Woodstock Lady from the McCoy ridden odd-on favourite Caxton Star. The pair finished a long way clear of the rest of the 13-runner field.

Conditional jockey Richie Forristal was thought to be a rising star two seasons ago. Recently the 20-year-old has endured a time in the wilderness but a win on Southern Be George in the conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle earned his third win of the season.

In a display of bold front-running, Southern Be George was sent to the front early by Forristal and the pair ran their nine rivals ragged to provide a seven-length win over Miss Lacroix, with Kingdom Emporer a one-paced third place.