FESTIVAL WIN WOULD JUST BE HEAVENLY
BY JASON HEAVEY
WHEN Paul Hennessy lifted his second English Greyhound Derby title in June, the chances of him realising a lifetime ambition of training a winner at Cheltenham in the same year were virtually non-existent.
Yet less than six months on from Derby glory with Priceless Blake at Nottingham, the County Kilkenny trainer has enjoyed the victory he thought would never come – after Heaven Help Us turned his dream into reality at Prestbury Park.
Although Heaven Help Us scored last month in one of the more low-key contests staged on the hallowed Cheltenham turf, it is a moment that will forever be treasured by a man who has won many of greyhound racing’s biggest prizes.
Hennessy said: “I don’t think there are words that can describe the feeling. It was just magical. That enclosure at Cheltenham – you have to earn the right to go in there.
“Most people never get the chance to go in there, and for us to get the chance was phenomenal. It is every bit as special as everything we have achieved with the dogs.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have a runner at Cheltenham, let alone a winner.”
As for most of those in attendance, victory for the 33-1 shot came as a surprise to Hennessy.
He said: “We didn’t expect her to win – although she had been working well, and last year I wanted her to experience running in those graded races.
“Jumping the last, I thought the post would never come – because it is a long way up that hill. You start looking for that winning line when you are in front.”
For Hennessy, there was no more appropriate person to help celebrate his Cheltenham triumph than long-standing owner and close friend John Turner.
He added: “John has been a great supporter of mine – we won the Derby at Wimbledon together in 2016 with Jaytee Jet, and we are good buddies.
“It’s kay being great if they win, but he is equally as good when it goes pear-shaped – and that says a lot for a person and separates the men from the boys.”