Racing: Beaumont dreaming of gold
Peter Beaumont is dreaming of training a second winner of the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup after Hussard Collonges sprung a 33-1 surprise in the £125,000 (€201,000) Royal & SunAlliance Chase.
Iznogoud made a brave bid for Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy but Hussard Collonges was too strong up the hill and won by two lengths with Chives a further four lengths away third.
Beaumont, who saddled Jodami to capture chasing’s blue riband event in 1993, let his heart rule his head when he went to 46,000 guineas (€74,000) to buy the son of Video Rock at the Doncaster Sales in August 2000.
‘‘It seemed to be at lot of money at the time but I just liked the look of him. He’s not as big as some chasers and he does not look a dear buy now,’’ said the York trainer.
‘‘You can’t compare him to Jodami. They are different sorts of horses. Jodami was a cracking hurdler before he went chasing while this fella did not show much in bumpers and was only lightly-raced over hurdles.
‘‘I don’t see why he shouldn’t make a Gold Cup horse. He’s a super jumper and he stays well but I know that Russ (Garritty) has always seen him as one for the Grand National.’’
Galileo, a smart horse on the Flat in his native Poland, won an eventful Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle for local trainer Tom George.
The six-year-old beat Irish raider Over The Bar by three and a half lengths on only his second start in this country but the race was marred by the death of Rouble.
George, whose stables are at Slad, said: ‘‘He got into every kind of trouble there was but neither he nor the jockey were phased by it although I was worried.
‘‘He was only gelded four months ago and so he’s still improving. I bought him privately in Poland where he won from five furlongs to a mile and three-quarters.’’
Champion trainer Pipe belatedly got off the mark at the Festival when Ilnamar took the Coral Eurobet Cup.
But with stable jockey McCoy opting to ride disappointing favourite Golden Alpha from Pipe’s six-strong team in the race, it was left to Rodi Greene to steer the ex-French gelding to a clear-cut success.
Greene seized the limelight to seal the biggest win of his career as the 25-1 chance stormed home eight lengths clear from the Jonjo O’Neill-trained pair, Joss Naylor and Master Tern, with Stromness fourth.
Only 24 hours earlier Pipe had been dealt a devastating blow with the loss of his star hurdler Valiramix, who fractured a shoulder in a tragic accident on the Flat during the Smurfit Champion Hurdle.
He said: ‘‘I didn’t want to come racing today and I don’t know if I want to come tomorrow. Valiramix was a very good horse and it’s been tough for everyone.
‘‘There’s been a great response from the public and from other trainers, all of whom have been very supportive.’’
Referring to the death of Rouble, Pipe said: ‘‘I feel very sorry for Josh Gifford today. When it happens to you, you know how it feels.
‘‘It’s very sad and I don’t like talking about it.
‘‘I just want everything to come home safe now - winners don’t count.’’
