The Gold Cup hero
The Colin Tizzard-trained Native River, piloted by Richard Johnson, battles neck-and-neck with Might Bite to take top honours in the Gold Cup for owners Garth and Ann Broom
Brave Native River wins for team Tizzard
ON the back of the Irish domination of this year’s Festival, it is no wonder Colin Tizzard reckoned he had no chance in the Timico Gold Cup. However, Native River — his Hennessy and Welsh National winner — did what he does best and galloped the guts out of his 14 rivals to beat Might Bite four-and-a-half lengths in as good a duel as you're likely to see in a staying chase.
In truth, this year’s Gold Cup, an open race on paper, was a twohorse race between the galloper Native River — given a brilliantlyjudged ride by Richard Johnson — and the classy Might Bite. The pair were rarely separated by more than a length.
The rest were like silent extras in a movie, just filling the screen in the background behind the two stars, never able to get a look in. While some were undoubtedly inconvenienced by the heavy going, they were all inconvenienced by the fractions Johnson and Native River set up front.
For three miles, Nico de Boinville aboard the Nicky Henderson-trained favourite — bidding to give the trainer an unprecedented big-race treble at the same Festival — sat on Native River’s quarters. The leader jumped exuberantly and answered Johnson’s every call for a long one, while Might Bite jumped more conservatively out of the ground.
Turning in, King George victor Might Bite loomed alongside Tizzard’s chestnut eight-year-old, apparently going the better if their respective jockeys’ body language was anything to go by.
However, if de Boinville was less animated, it was because he was running on fumes and trying to nurse Might Bite home. The uphill slope to the winning post has not often been “heartbreak hill” for the jockey, however, inside the last furlong Might Bite began to tread water as Native River maintained his gallop all the way to the line.
It was a great result for Native River’s trainer and, added to his win in the preceding Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle with Kilbricken Storm, it transformed a topsy-turvy season for the dairy farmer from Milborne Port in a few golden minutes.
For much of the winter, his yard has been laid low with a bug. Thistlecrack was on the injured list while Cue Card was heading towards retirement and, to cap it all, Alan and Ann Potts — one of the few owners capable of putting it up to JP McManus, Michael O’Leary and Rich Ricci at a sale — both sadly passed away. Now he will remember it for all the right reasons.
“The Gold Cup is everything,” said the popular Tizzard. “The fact that we’ve won it is unreal. With horses, you are never as far away from having a good one as you may think. We have had a wonderful preparation with Native River, so I was sure something would go wrong in the race but it didn’t.
“The Irish have been winning everything for three days, so I thought we had no chance. They’ve blown us away and we couldn’t even buy one at the sale last night. I said to my lot we needed to buck up a bit and, by Christ, we have. To have two winners in an hour is unbelievable,” he said.
“The chap on board was as good as the horse. He was brave and the horse was brave and he kept pushing on. Native River’s owners Garth and Ann Broom have been big supporters of the yard, so it’s great to provide them with a Gold Cup. I came here as a 17-year-old farmer and stood by the last — I never thought I’d have a runner, let alone win it.”
Johnson, who is soon to be crowned champion jump jockey for a third time, had been anonymous for most of the week. However, if ever a horse was made for him it was Native River and, 18 years after winning the Gold Cup on Looks Like Trouble — who is still turned out on his Herefordshire farm — he was able to celebrate winning it again.
“Obviously, he had a hard year when he came here 12 months ago; however, I thought if he could produce last year’s form he had a big chance,” said Johnson. “He did and a bit more. There’s every chance he’s improved. He’s such a straightforward horse — I was just a passenger. He got into a rhythm and kept coming for me. The Gold Cup is not just about having a very good horse but a brave horse.”
Might Bite lost nothing in defeat; in fact, he enhanced his reputation. It is probably foolhardy to speculate whether Native River can come back again next year.
He has youth on his side, but the last three winners before him have never made it back to defend their titles. After finishing third in 2017, he was out for a long time with a ligament problem, which restricted him to a single prep race in the Denman Chase at Newbury.
Whatever he goes on to achieve, Native River has added racing’s blue riband to the Hennessy and Welsh National — in which he carried top weight. That alone makes him one of the most accomplished staying chasers of recent times.