Snowden in peak form
Jamie Snowden claimed the riding honours on Grand Military Gold Cup day at Sandown Park with a double highlighted by the feature-race success of hot favourite Whitenzo.
The 25-year-old rider, recently promoted to become a captain in the Royal Hussars, will leave the British army later this year to become assistant trainer to Nicky Henderson.
But he hopes to continue his riding career and should be a useful asset to his new employer judged by his two stylish successes here.
Having captured the Royal Artillery Gold Cup three weeks earlier, Whitenzo and Snowden returned to the same course and distance to complete the military double in the Grand Military Gold Cup in front of the Queen.
Snowden, 25, gave the 8-11 winner a perfect ride, quickening the pace from the third-last fence to see off his rivals and meeting the last two on a perfect stride.
At the line, the Paul Nicholls-trained winner had 12 lengths to spare over Curtins Hill, with Carbury Cross well beaten in third.
“He was becoming a bit disappointing last season and Paul tried him in blinkers but he absolutely hated them,” said Snowden, winning the race for the second time.
“The drop in class to these races and wearing a tongue-tie has really helped him, and he really enjoyed himself today.
“The tongue-tie has stopped him from choking in his races and he quickened up well when I asked him to.”
Snowden, riding his fourth winner of the season, is looking forward to the challenges that his new position will bring.
“At the moment I am teaching in the King’s Royal Hussars but in August I will be joing Nicky Henderson,” he said.
“Hopefully I will be able to carry on riding while I am there because it’s what I love doing the most.”
Snowden had struck first when Transit motored past his rivals to lift the opening contest.
The Brian Ellison-trained 7-2 favourite cut down front-runner The Local at the final flight of the Barclays Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle and stayed on all the way to the line to record a 14-length verdict.
The well-backed six-year-old, who mixes hurdling with steeplechasing, fairly sprinted up the hill as his rivals toiled.
“Jamie has given him a perfect ride as he should have won on his past three runs but he has been given too much to do,” said Graeme Redpath, manager of the winning syndicate Get Into Racing UK.
“He appreciated the bit of cut in the ground today.”
The other race on the card restricted to amateur riders, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Memorial Hunters’ Chase, went to another favourite as 5-2 chance Moor Lane galloped his rivals into the ground under Dominic Alers-Hankey.
The veteran chaser found his jumping skills being put to good use over these stiff fences and he kept on well to beat Indien Du Boulay by 18 lengths.
“At least he is fit as I have been riding him out every day!” smiled owner Ian Balding, father of the gelding’s trainer, Andrew.
“There’s a nice hunter chase at Cheltenham next month we will look at for him, but this was the race we really wanted to win.”
With Her Majesty in attendance, punters took the hint about which horse to back in the closing Association For Post Natal Illness ‘NH’ Novices’ Hurdle and piled into her Sea Captain.
But despite turning in a brave performance as he tried to hold off all challengers in the home straight, the 5-4 favourite was just unable to withstand the run of Mighty Man (6-4), who got up close home to score by a length under Richard Johnson.
The pair, who finished clear of their rivals, both look smart prospects and may be set to renew rivalry at Aintree next month.
Ever one to play his cards close to his chest, Mighty Man’s trainer Henry Daly was unable to disguise the respect he has for the five-year-old.
“At the start of the season we thought about winning a bumper and going straight for Cheltenham, but we decided to crack on and go over hurdles with him.
“Now that he has won twice, we will have to think about going to Aintree with him, but he is still very inexperienced and he can only improve on what we have seen so far.
“He can still get himself in a bit of a tizzy sometimes. The ground didn’t help him today either.
“He’s learning how to race and considering that, he did it really well today. I just don’t know if I want him to take on the really good horses at Aintree yet.”
Andrew Thornton got punters out of jail with a never-say-die ride in the Sarah Pask Memorial Handicap Hurdle.
The rider got the Robert Alner-trained 9-2 joint-favourite Back Nine home in a photo finish having jumped the last with two and a half lengths to find on leader Greenfield.
Sporting facepaint-coloured red cheeks in aid of Comic Relief, Thornton quipped: “My face would have been red all over if I’d got beaten there!”
Alner added: “He got squeezed up going to the second-last or he’d have won more easily. But Andrew was very patient and kept waiting with him for his chance to make a move.
“I can’t wait to go chasing with him. The owner wanted to go over fences this year but I said no because I wanted to keep him as a novice for next year.
“He’s a lovely horse who won a bumper for Arthur Moore, and I hope he’s got a bright future.”
Durlston Bay (7-1) gave an exhibition round of jumping on his way to victory in the Thales Novices’ Handicap Chase.
Sandown’s stiff fences require plenty of skill to negotiate and while favourite Osiris was untidy at several obstacles, the winner – who took up the running at the third fence – kept finding more in front under Paul Flynn.
Winning trainer Simon Dow and owner Mike Mackenzie have had to be patient with the eight-year-old, who missed all of last season with leg trouble.
Dow said; “He won a little juvenile hurdle but he has always had the size to do well over fences and I suspected we were scratching at the surface a bit. I really thought Sandown would be his place, even though this was just his fourth run over fences.
“You’re always a bit mindful of the ground when you have a horse who has had problems with his legs and we’ll see how he is tomorrow before we think about where we go next, but I wouldn’t have thought he’d be going anywhere on fast ground.”
