FARRELL IS NO ORDINARY JOE
Scottish Grand National
WELSH trainer Rebecca Curtis rescued a nightmare season as her 33-1 outsider Joe Farrell clung on for a heart-stopping win in the £215,000 Coral Scottish Grand National.
A week after Tiger Roll held on for a fast-diminishing head success in the Grand National at Aintree, Adam Wedge-ridden Joe Farrell passed the post in front of an 18,000 sold-out crowd by a nose, but would have been collared by runner-up Ballyoptic in another stride.
It was an outcome which saved the bookies. The runner-up was a well-backed 9-1 shot, while Vintage Clouds and Doing Fine, both 12-1, were third and fourth, respectively.
But it was a result that meant much more than pounds and odds for Curtis. This success was only the ninth of a torrid season during which the Pembroke shire based trainer split from her long-time partner Gearoid Costelloe and saw her horses struggle for form.
But Joe Farrell’s part owner Londonbased Mark Sherwood, a long-time supporter of Curtis, had urged her to run, telling her a success in Britain’s fourth biggest betting race would put the trainer ‘back in the spotlight’.
Curtis, who had never been to Ayr before, said: ‘Joe Farrell always travels well and stays on better ground. It’s been bad ground all winter. He has been in great form at home.
‘I was quietly confident and we had nothing to lose.
‘It has been an awful season. I lost half the horses I had and a lot of things happened in my personal life as well. We can, hopefully, start again next year.
‘It is a positive note to end the season. It would be nice to get a few owners back and we will keep on trying.
‘It was amazing to watch and has given me the biggest buzz for a long time.’
For 28-year-old winning jockey Wedge, it was his biggest career success and a good way to end a mixed season.
Back in January, Wedge was banned for 21 days for taking the wrong course in a race at Exeter.
The rider said: ‘I thought we had got chinned to be honest, but he has a heart of a lion a stuck his head out.
‘I won the 2013 Scottish Champion Hurdle on Court Minstrel but this tops that.
‘It has been an up-and-down season but I have a lot of good people behind me like my boss (trainer) Evan Williams and everyone I ride for has been supportive.’
Grand National winner Tiger Roll, though trained in Ireland by Gordon Elliott, had started his career in the ownership of top Flat owner Sheikh Mohammed after being bought by his long-time bloodstock adviser John Ferguson. Ferguson, who no longer works for the Sheikh, also had a hand in the career of Joe Farrell.
During that period of time, Ferguson found Joe Farrell and named him after the admired Scottish Platoon Sergeant with whom he served while on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.
When Ferguson quit training, Sherwood bought him for £10,000 and that looks money extremely well invested now that Joe Farrell has secured a first prize of almost £125,000.
The nine-year-old, who won at Newbury last month, also extended the good record of novice chasers win the race with a fellow novice chasing him home.
Always prominent if not fluent in his jumping, Joe Farrell was in front three furlongs out in a race where Vintage Clouds and Gold Present, who ultimately failed to finish, duelled for the lead as the race intensified.
The Young Master and Indy Five had exited by the third fence and 13 of the 29 starters finished, the remainder being pulled up.
Dual winner Vicente looked like he could play a part and make history with a third consecutive win but his jumping let him down. He also lost both hind shoes.
His jockey, Sam Twiston-Davies, said: ‘He got in a really good rhythm but as everyone know with Vicente, jumping is not his greatest asset. He came off the bridle four fences from home and the fences then became quite hard work.’
Fagan, the 7-1 favourite trying to give Elliott a Grand National Grand Slam by
adding to the trainer’s successes at Aintree and in the Irish Grand National, never figured and was one of those to be pulled up.
His jockey, Davy Russell, said: ‘I had a dream start and a dream position if he was good enough but it didn’t happen today.’
The day’s biggest frustration lay with Nigel Twiston-Davies, trainer of Ballyoptic. He has won the race twice and had saddled the second and third last year.
A week after his Grand National hope Blaklion had been brought down at the first fence, his Tom Bellamyridden runner-up was agonisingly edged out.
The trainer said: ‘It was frustrating. We were giving a stone to a good horse. In another stride he’d have won. B ****** s!’