Horse hero

Ahead of this year’s Hickstead Derby (25 June), we meet last year’s winner

Hickstead Derby winner Glenavadra Brilliant

WHEN he spotted a nice stamp of a horse at a local show, former Irish showjumper Calvin McDonald snapped him up.

“They were jumping 6ft verticals with him in the warm-up to jump a 3ft course in the ring,” recalls Calvin, who was impressed by the six-year-old’s maturity. “I thought that if he could stand that kind of messing about he might make a good showjumper, so I bought him that afternoon.”

The horse was Glenavadra Brilliant, known as Max, the scopey chestnut who went on to become a Derby specialist with William Whitaker. From what Calvin knows about Max’s background, his early education gave him a good grounding for big, bold courses.

“He was bred in Galway and spent time with a racing family in Cork, who used him as a lead horse for young point-to-pointers over the fences,” he says. “I sent him to my good friend Michael Whitaker with the idea that he could win a Hickstead Derby.”

William takes up the story, adding: “[My uncle] Michael knew that he jumped well but felt he was a bit green to fit into his string, so he suggested he came to my dad Ian’s yard. Max was quite a character — I remember Michael warning us that he’d put his back up when you got on him, as if he was going to buck.”

William’s younger brother George Whitaker was the first to jump Max, but it was William who then took up the reins and developed his potential.

“We knew we’d have to get him fit and strong to get the best out of him,” he recalls. “From the start he was scopey and brave but careful. He was straightforward and never spooked at a thing.

“He’s a gentle giant, with a lovely temperament, but he’s very sensitive and it can take him a while to get over things. He’s at his best when he’s feeling cocky.”

Acknowledging the big part that Max has played in his life over the past few years, William adds: “He’s brought real strength and depth to my team. He’s had good placings all the way through, but his victory in last year’s Hickstead Derby is up there with the best wins of my career.”