Baden breaks Disney stronghold
Guy Disney’s phenomenal run comes to an end as Billy Aprahamian lands the Grand Military Gold Cup — and an ageing Sandown specialist cheers his fans
GRAND Military day at Sandown — when a handful of hardy amateurs take centre stage — is a charming precursor to the biggest week in jump racing.
This year’s race centred around whether or not Capt. Guy Disney, who lost a leg when his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in
2009, could complete the rarely achieved services double-double of Royal Artillery and Grand Military Gold Cups, having won both races last year and the Royal Artillery again last month.
However, though he finished a gallant second on Rathlin Rose, the fairytale was not to be and the race went to Lt. Billy Aprahamian,
who rode a beautifully judged race on the Nicky Henderson-trained novice Baden.
While Henderson might have done a stint in the CCF at Eton, both owner and jockey were wellqualified: Christopher Hanbury was a stalwart of the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars, while Aprahamian is a lieutenant in the Irish Guards.
Baden, who ran without distinction in last year’s Albert Bartlett, has gradually been progressing through the season as a novice chaser and, although this wasn’t a vintage renewal, the confidence that a first victory over fences will give him could easily bring him on another step.
Aprahamian, 28, a former professional polo player who looks pretty tidy in a finish for such a part-timer, certainly got a tune out of Baden and, once he had jumped to the front at the 17th, he never really looked in danger and was holding Rathlin Rose all the way up the hill.
“Any day you ride for Mr Henderson is a special day and the horse was phenomenal,” said Aprahamian, who had been down to Seven Barrows to school his mount earlier in the week. “For a novice I could put so much faith in him. On better ground he would have more toe.
“For us military jocks this is as big as it gets. To ride in it and win it is very special. Baden’s a quality horse, so for Mr Henderson to put so much faith in me on a nice novice is very special.”
HOLIDAY BUY DELIVERS
A HOLIDAY let business may not be considered completely compatible with running a racing yard, but when Alan and Sally Coney came to stay in one of
Nigel Twiston-Davies’ cottages, the trainer managed to persuade them to invest in a racehorse called Mr Antolini.
The happy outcome was a 20-1 winner of Saturday’s Imperial
Cup — a second victory in three years for the trainer. However, the jockey, Jamie Bargary, had to win the race twice; firstly on the course and then in the stewards’ room — after the last 100 yards had got
very tight between Mr Antolini and the game runner-up Call Me Lord, who was trying to give two stone away.
There was a bump, but it was close to the line and the winning margin of a cosy neck probably saved Bargary’s bacon on this occasion — the stewards taking the view that Mr Antolini was always holding the runner-up.
For the eight-year-old, the Imperial Cup was very much plan B.
“We get so angry about the weather, but if it hadn’t snowed Mr Antolini would have run in a hurdle at Newbury, which we thought was an easy one,” explained Twiston-Davies.
“We weren’t expecting this and if he had won there last week he might have come here with a penalty, so thank you weather.”
The sponsors, who also put up a £100,000 bonus for any horse winning the Imperial Cup and winning at the Cheltenham Festival the following week, probably slept better knowing that no horse could win their bonus — Mr Antolini was too lowrated before the Imperial Cup to warrant an entry at the Festival.
SANDOWN’S VETERAN STAR
THE victory of veteran course specialist Pete The Feat gave the Sandown crowd some roaring practice ahead of Cheltenham. The 14-year-old beat Horatio Hornblower a neck in the Matchbook Racing Is Commission Free Handicap Chase.
Landing his third win from his last six starts at Sandown,
Pete The Feat jumped the last two lengths clear, and if the roar of a big crowd can help a horse then it certainly made the difference between winning and losing here, as they cheered on a horse which has certainly caught the imagination of Sandown regulars.
“It’s mad, he loves Sandown,” said trainer Charlie Longsdon. “I don’t know why. He gets into a rhythm and jumps from fence to fence behind them and every time it opens up for him when they get to the Pond fence.
“I get a tingle down my spine — what a star he’s been and he’s got a huge fan club judging by the number of emails I got yesterday wishing him good luck. There’s no reason to retire him and we’ll aim for the veterans’ final back here next season,” he added.
“When we ran him at Exeter recently, I said before the race, ‘you know, I think he might just be a Sandown specialist these days,’ and sure enough, he pulled up but it qualified him for the veterans’ final.” H&H