Lalor’s emotional win for Woollacott
Trainer Kayley triumphs after husband’s passing Six-year-old could make the move to fences
There has been no shortage of emotional victories at Aintree down the years, but few as poignant as Lalor’s Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle triumph yesterday.
Weeks after the racing world was left reeling when trainer Richard Woollacott was found dead at his yard, widow Kayley watched Richard Johnson steer the six-year-old home at the Grand National Festival. Lalor struck Grade One gold a year after providing Woollacott with his first big-race success in the Grade Two bumper at Aintree, this time running in the name of his wife. “It’s unbelievable. I don’t know how that has just happened,” she said after what was her second win as a trainer since her husband’s tragic death in January, her first coming at Exeter on Sunday.
“It’s a very emotional day, but obviously I’ve had a little bit of help from up there. This is a really special course for me and Richard, as we had some of our best days here. The horses have really kept everything going and me on the straight and narrow. They’ve been a big help, and definitely having ones like him in the yard make you want to do it.”
Thanking owner David Staddon for having “stuck by me”, she added: “I did say earlier, ‘I want to go home,’ I really did. Racing is one of the toughest games at times but, over recent months, it has shown how amazingly supportive it can be – they really get behind you and look after you.”
Father-of-three Woollacott, including one by his widow, suffered from mental health problems and she set up a fundraising page in the 40-year-old’s memory to encourage people to donate to charities including Mind. She wrote on the page that the couple had “struggled with many hidden issues behind closed doors, which ultimately carried a very tragic price”.
She added: “Suicide is the single biggest cause of death of men between 18 and 45. We must do more. By making this page, we aim to raise money for these three important charities in memory of Richard. If we can help just one other person from getting so lost then it is worth it.”
Reflecting on Lalor’s triumph yesterday on his first outing since finishing 13th in February’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, she said: “I honestly thought, today, if he didn’t run well, he would still be a novice next year with plenty of experience, but now we will have to go back to the drawing board. He is a chaser in the making. He [Richard] went to look at him at Stuart Kittow’s [yard] and he came back and said, ‘I’ve got to have this horse and we’ve got to find a way of having him.’ He turned up and was big, beautiful, backward and a bit gormless, but lovely. And we’ve always been really excited with him. “Richard Johnson just said the track really suits him with two really long straights. He jumped much better than he did in the Betfair and we’ve done a lot of schooling with him. “He found it pretty tough on the ground at Newbury, but he just loves it here. It is amazing. He will jump fences one day, but we are definitely going to enjoy today before we think about where we go.”
A 14-1 shot, Lalor led from the third jump from home yesterday, winning by 2½ lengths after holding off a bold surge from Bedrock, who tired to finish third behind Vision Des Flos.
Champion jockey Johnson said: “This is hard to put into words. It was very sad what happened and this horse last year was his first big winner. To come and do it again in his memory, for his family, is fantastic. Hopefully, this horse will keep Richard’s name in lights for a long time to come.
“I hadn’t sat on him since last year and, tongue in cheek, I said it would be nice if we got the same sort of performance and I’d ride him the same way. He’s a lovely big horse who stays really well and it’s all gone to plan; he really put his head down after the last. It’s a special day for the family and I’m sure Richard is smiling as well.”