SPECIAL LALOR
Kayley tears after victory for husband’s super horse
THE emotion will flow in the Aintree winner’s enclosure today, but no result in the Grand National will come close to being as poignant as the victory of Lalor in the Grade One Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle yesterday.
A year ago Lalor landed the Grade Two Bumper at this meeting for Devon trainer Richard Woollacott. But after Richard took his own life aged 40 in January, it was his widow Kayley who greeted her Richard Johnson-ridden 14-1 winner.
Fighting back tears, Kayley said: ‘It’s unbelievable, I don’t know how that just happened. It’s an emotional day, but I had a little help from above.
‘This was a really special horse for me and Richard. We loved the horse from the moment he came to our yard.
‘Richard went to look at him at Stewart Kittow’s stable and came back and said, “I’ve got to have this horse, we’ve got to find a way of having him”.
‘We’ve always been excited about him. The horse has kept everything going, and me on the straight and narrow. Having horses like him in the yard makes you want to do it. The owners (Mr and Mrs David Staddon) have stuck by me and been so loyal and so good. It’s worked out.’
In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Kayley has tried to heighten awareness of mental health issues.
The number of horses in her stable has dropped to a more manageable level of around a dozen and tough decisions still have to be made about the future. But the Woollacott operation has received a massive boost with Lalor’s two-and-a-half length win from Vision Des Flos. Kayley added: ‘I did say earlier I just want to go home. ‘Racing is one of the toughest games, but over the last few months it has shown how supportive it can be. They (racing people) really get behind you and help, and have helped me find my feet.’ It was Lalor’s first win of the season and a bounce-back effort after being beaten almost 40 lengths by Kalashnikov in the Betfair Hurdle in February — an improvement Kayley attributed to improved jumping after intensive schooling.
A degree of poignancy also surrounded the hard- fought neck win of Paul Nicholls-trained Politologue under a full-blooded ride by Sam Twiston-Davies in the Grade One JLT Melling Chase.
Politologue, winner of the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December, carried the colours of owner John Hales, who lost the brilliant chaser One Man in a fatal fall in the same race 20 years ago.
The 11-1 winner was robbed of certain victory here in the 2017 Grade One Maghull Novices’ Chase when stumbling after the last fence. Politologue, who beat 11-10 favourite Min a head, was bouncing back from a below-par run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
Nicholls is now convinced that track and meeting do not suit Politologue, who was fitted with both a hood and a tongue-tie yesterday.
Jockey Harry Cobden, 19, will have his second National ride on Colin Tizzardtrained The Dutchman this afternoon, but he already has a great record over the famous fences.
Cobden landed the Randox Health Topham Trophy Chase for the second year running on Tizzard-trained 14-1 chance Ultragold, who was in control throughout the last two furlongs as he beat stablemate Shanahan’s Turn three and three-quarter lengths.
Having scored a Grade One treble on day one of the meeting, trainer Nicky Henderson landed two more with Santini (Nico De Boinville) in the Doom Bar Sefton Novices’ Hurdle and Terrefort (Daryl Jacob) in the Betway Mildmay Novices’ Chase.
Jacob reckons Terrefort is a Grand National contender of the future.