THE APPLE OF MY I
National hero to strike Gold says Knight
HENRIETTA KNIGHT, who first identified I Am Maximus as a future star, is now backing the Randox Grand National hero to go on and win a Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup-winning trainer was racing manager to the late Michael Grech when she first laid eyes on I Am Maximus as a yearling and later bought the horse on his behalf.
I Am Maximus spent his first few summers with Knight (right) at her West Lockinge Farm in Wantage and was trained by Nicky Henderson.
The 77-year-old now feels course winner I Am Maximus can emulate her own Best Mate and capture the blue riband race at the Cheltenham Festival. “I think he could win a Gold Cup,” said Knight.
“He is a real stayer, Maximus, and he likes Cheltenham – he loves the hill. I really enjoyed watching him in the National and after he jumped the first two fences I said ‘he’s loving it, he’s got the hang of it and loves these fences’.
“I had the horse here a lot for two summers and parts of winter as well and he won a bumper and a novice hurdle for Nicky. But Mike wanted to move all his horses to Ireland and it was my idea to move him to Willie Mullins.
“I doubt anyone else would have won a Grand National with him and he has trained him so well.”
Meanwhile, Henderson was left to think ‘what if’?
“I’ve let one slip through the net,” he quipped. “It’s ironic, you spend 45 years trying to win the Grand National and you finally get your mitts on one and we let it get away.
“He was spent his first two seasons here and he was the one horse I wanted to win on Saturday.
“I suppose the only thing I might have done to contribute to his success was probably the way we minded him quite a bit when he was young, because he was big and backwards and raw. He was a lovely horse with a great temperament.”