Horse Racing: Reed ends riding career on winning note

Tim Reed enjoyed a fairytale ending to his riding career when Kerry Lads ran out a convincing winner of the Hadrians Wall Novices' Chase at Carlisle.

Kerry Lads jumped to the front at the fifth last, and with none of his rivals able to mount a serious enough challenge to spoil the party, the Lucinda Russell-trained gelding stayed on stoutly up the hill to beat The Grey Dyer by 11 lengths.

Reed, who has ridden around 230 winners, said: "There are tears in my eyes I am afraid, I am a grown man after all!

"But it is great that my family is here, my wife Emma, daughter Leila, 9, and son Harry, 5, my mother Gillian who has come racing for the first time for six years, and my father George."

Reed added: "It is fantastic to go out on a winner and from the first day I sat on Kerrys Lad I said he was a class horse, he made just one mistake when I let him guess - he is not a guesser - and he has done it really well for me."

But he added with a grin: "I did say I would take a licence out again to ride him at Cheltenham!"

Ms Russell was delighted that she had provided Reed with his last winner, and she said: "When I saw the entries, I rang Tim and said 'this is the race for you'!

"Tim gave him a great ride and it is even more pleasing because he has done all the work teaching the horse on the racecourse and has always been a great help to us."

Lenny Lungo saddled The Grey Dyer but he was still happy to see Reed bow out on a winner and he said: "Tim rode about 60 winners for us, he used to come to the yard and teach the young horses and it was a pleasure to work with him - he is a good man too.

"If he had been a stone lighter he would have turned professional a long time before he did and it is good to see him go out in one piece. He is teaching some young horses of ours to jump at present at his place and I hope he will continue to do so."