Age proved no barrier for First Flow, who showed he still retains plenty of his old zest with a brilliant all-the-way success at Lingfield.

Carrying top-weight of 12 stone and conceding heaps to his younger rivals, Kim Bailey’s 12-year-old was bounced out by usual pilot David Bass and never missed a beat as he landed the Download The Racing App Now Godstone Handicap Chase spoils at 15-2.

It was somewhat fitting that the veteran registered the 12th victory of his decorated career at the venue he first tasted success back in 2017, much to the delight of his handler.

“He’s unreal isn’t he, I adore this horse,” said Bailey.

“He’s a 12-year-old and carrying top-weight. He needed to start today and we have someone down at the start with him every time he runs – he’s been like that as long as I’ve had him.

“He goes round the farm everyday and I get a phone call after half an hour from the girl riding him saying I can’t get him to move. He’s a real character and a real superstar.

“Everyone says to me ‘when are you retiring him?, but you can’t retire him, the horse is enjoying himself. He’s 12, still got the enthusiasm and just won a race off 158.

“It’s a real treat to have a horse like him and he won his first hurdle race here. He’s been a superstar, he’s got no right to be any good he has no pedigree, but’s he’s been what he has, I love him.”

Nurse Susan has “all the tickets” for the big races in the spring after following up a recent Cheltenham success when upped to three miles for the Weatherbys Hamilton Handicap Hurdle.

The seven-year-old had to show plenty of resolve to see off the persistent presence of Venetia Williams’ Ramo, but pulled out extra to oblige backers who had sent Dan Skelton’s charge off the 6-4 favourite.

“She just dosses, she dossed in the mares race at Cheltenham over two-and-a-half and she’s dossed again today,” said Skelton.

“She’s talented and the Love Envoi form is there for all to see. She’s just a good mare. We tried her over fences and I suppose her intelligence lead her to perhaps not like them. Back over hurdles she is a more committed horse.

“Colm (Donlon, owner) likes to have all the tickets, so she’s entered in everything and if there was a charity race (at Cheltenham) I’m sure she would have an entry for that as well.

“She’s just a very good horse and we might go somewhere else en route (to Cheltenham), she’s just a good horse and we’re very happy with her.”

Meanwhile, Tripoli Flyer booked his ticket to Aintree’s Grand National Festival in the spring with an impressive display in the opening Winter Million Open National Hunt Flat Race.

A keeping-on fifth on his rules debut at Chepstow in October, Fergal O’Brien’s five-year-old was a 15-2 shot and showed plenty of speed and class to down the well-regarded Nicky Henderson-trained 8-11 favourite Kingston Pride in the hands of Paddy Brennan.

“We’ve got some lovely bumper horses, but I thought he was very good, he was very impressive,” said O’Brien.

“I thought the Henderson horse had solid point-to-point form and the horse who was second to him (The Enabler) has won a Listed race.

“We thought he would appreciate the surface and the good thing about this horse is his owner as he gave him time after his first race at Chepstow because he had a hard race.

“He was only a four-year-old then and we put him away, I think he went to Paddy’s for a bit and then to an event rider down the road who did a lot of work with him. He came back to us and we just had to put the finishing touches to him ready for today.

“Today was always a plan because we thought he would appreciate the better ground.

“The plan, please God, is to go straight to Aintree. We think he will love the flat track and Paddy said the ground, although he got through it at Chepstow, will be important to him.

“I thought he was impressive but he will have to do it on grass now. Going forward he’s a beautiful jumper, so we will look forward to him.”

Caoilin Quinn proved he is once again the man for marathon events when he guided Gary Moore’s Movethechains (15-2) to victory in the Fitzdares Surrey National Handicap Chase, while there was a shock in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle as Ben Clarke’ 40-1 shot Ooh Betty landed the spoils with the assistance of the stewards.

It was Henderson’s Aston Martini that was first past the post following a ding-dong battle after the last, but the placings were reversed after an inquiry.

“She is battle-hardened and she’s not the sexy option in the race, but I think running in handicaps has served her well as she had to battle hard there and be brave,” said Clarke.

“She got bumped a couple of times coming up the home straight and Ben Jones (jockey) felt it cost him, but saying that, it is not the way we want to win a horse race – Nicky was incredibly gracious so I will drop him a bottle of wine.

“At the back of my mind, I’ve always thought if we get half-decent ground at Cheltenham, she could go there for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. We’ll sit tight and she doesn’t want a bog – she can’t run in proper, proper soft ground – so we will plot our way there.

“Endless Escape was beaten just over 10 lengths in the Cheltenham race last year and this mare would be a much speedier type, so we have half an idea what it takes – not as much as Nicky does – so we’ll see, it could be an option.”

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls got on the scoresheet in the final race on the card as 4-1 favourite Inthewaterside made every yard to claim the Winter Million Novices’ Handicap Hurdle in the hands of Harry Cobden.

High Class Hero looks likely to be part of Willie Mullins’ Cheltenham Festival squad after making it five from five under Rules in the W.T. O’Grady Memorial Irish EBF Novice Hurdle at Thurles.

This race has been won by some smart performers in the past, with Gerri Colombe, Monkfish and The Storyteller on the roll of honour.

High Class Hero was a red-hot 2-7 favourite to join them after following up a Listowel bumper win with three victories over timber between early August and late October.

A break of 92 days since his last success at Limerick was a minor concern, but the son of Sulamani made light of that lay-off by tracking What Path and Easy Fella before easing smoothly between the pair after the second last, going on to oblige by a comfortable length and three-quarters from the latter.

Winning jockey Paul Townend said: “He settled relatively well, it turned into a dash off the final bend and he made up a lot of ground when we quickened. The conditions are testing, we didn’t go quick early and it was like what he did at Limerick.

“He hadn’t gone anywhere (from Mullins’ yard) since his last run but just hadn’t run in a while, so on the whole I’m very happy and he is progressing.

“I think he has enough runs, which is a help going for the Albert Bartlett (Novices’ Hurdle) and he has the right attitude as well.”

Betfair cut High Class Hero from 9-1 to 7-1 for that Cheltenham Festival contest.

David Christie’s Ferns Lock cruised to victory in the Carey Glass Hunters Chase, having hacked up by 20 lengths in the same race 12 months ago.

This year, he had eight lengths in hand over Romeo Magico at the finish, but Barry O’Neill enjoyed another armchair ride and could easily have extended that advantage on the 8-15 favourite.

Coral reacted by cutting Ferns Lock to 10-3 from 4-1 for the St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham.

“He had to give away 7lb and 10lb and in that ground that is very tough. The only time he has ran on nice ground was here last year and while everyone thinks he is a big, strong horse who likes soft, he is a beautiful mover who wants better ground,” said Christie.

“After finishing races on heavy ground last year, he would make a palate noise but it was nothing major so we put on a tongue-tie as a safeguard. On nicer ground he wouldn’t really need it but I’ll leave it on as he is happy and relaxed with it.

“Cheltenham is his goal, he is coming on all the time and I’m hoping he’d step up from that again now.

“He has an awful size of an engine but is very immature, although is learning in every race. We’ll build for Cheltenham now.”

Purse Price (7-4) showed a smart turn of foot to land the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle in emphatic fashion for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy.

Kennedy said: “It was a weak maiden hurdle but she had been consistent and did it well today. It looked a nice opportunity, so it was good to get her head in front.

“She travelled, jumped well and put the race to bed – it all went to plan. Hopefully there will be another race or two to be won with her and she can also get confidence from today.”

Falco Blitz (16-1) came with a smooth, late surge to land the Duggan Veterinary 4Cyte Handicap Chase under a confident ride by Conor McNamara for his father Eric.

The latter said: “I’m delighted for (owner) Shane Carmody, who is a great supporter of ours, so that winner means an awful lot to me. I’m really delighted to win for him.

“The horse had been a solid, consistent horse who deserved his day and thankfully it came. He was bought the same day as Real Steel (Paddy Power Chase winner) but unfortunately took longer to win. He has been a solid and sound horse, though.

“If he hadn’t won today, we were thinking of the veterans’ chase at Limerick in a month’s time but he is entered in the Leopardstown Chase, so we can think bigger now – if you’re not in, you can’t win.”

Little Mixup (12-1) was another to come through in the latter stages when securing his fourth career victory in the Horse & Jockey Handicap Hurdle under Mark McDonagh, giving trainer Denis Hogan a welcome boost following a recent suspension.

“I thought the handicapper had this lad and I asked him to drop the horse a pound to get him into a 0-116, but it looks like he was right,” said Hogan. “The race cut up though – the favourite tipped up and it probably wasn’t the strongest race.”

He added: “I have to thank all the owners who all stood by me (during the suspension), as it was a tough end to the year. It was messy and I advised owners to send horses here and there, and thankfully I got them back.”

All roads lead to the Cheltenham Gold Cup for L’Homme Presse following a triumphant comeback in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield.

The nine-year-old claimed Cheltenham’s Brown Advisory as one of two Grade One novice wins two seasons ago and kicked off last term with a fine weight-carrying victory in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle.

However, he subsequently unseated Charlie Deutsch when seemingly booked for second behind Bravemansgame in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and missed the rest of the campaign through injury.

Despite an absence totalling 391 days, L’Homme Presse was the 8-11 favourite to make a successful return in Lingfield’s £165,000 Winter Million feature and proved his ability remains very much intact with a two-and-a-quarter-length win over a race-fit dual Grade One winner in Protektorat.

Venetia Williams said: “It’s been a long time coming and I’m thrilled for Andy, Pat and Peter (owners) to have been as patient as they have been.

“There were proper stayers in there today who were going to eke out any weakness and he’s a stayer of course, but you can’t expect them to plumb the depths of their stamina first time out after a long time off.

“It (injury) was enough to keep him off for a good few months and then the season was coming to an end and we wanted to give him a long, steady preparation this autumn. It’s taken a while.

“In fairness, he hasn’t had much schooling and I was going to school him this week, but wasn’t able to because of the weather. He’s an intelligent horse, though.

“We brought him here and he could possibly have run a bit earlier but the races weren’t there. We wanted him to run somewhere where it was an appropriate race and we also had enough time to get him fit. I’m sure he will improve a bit, but don’t expect masses of improvement.”

The two-and-three-quarter-mile contest was an intriguing watch, with Harry Skelton seemingly keen to make the most of Protektorat’s fitness edge with an aggressive front-running ride.

The nine-year-old looked to have L’Homme Presse in trouble at one stage, but the latter’s jumping kept him in the fight as the pace increased and he was the one travelling the better as the big two straightened up for home.

Protektorat did not go down without a fight and it was still all to play for between the final two fences, but L’Homme Presse stamped his class on the run-in to take top honours with something to spare.

Coral trimmed the winner’s Gold Cup odds to 12-1 from 16-1, while Paddy Power were clearly more impressed and offered 9-1 from 14-1.

Williams did, however, raise the prospect of L’Homme Presse running again between now and March, with next month’s Ascot Chase on her radar.

“That’s been on our mind and we want to see how he comes out of this, but there is a possibility of that. Maybe it will be (Ascot), that is one of the races on the shortlist,” she added.

The trainer houses another potential Gold Cup contender in Royale Pagaille, who having been denied a run in Saturday’s Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock after the meeting was abandoned, will be rerouted to next weekend’s Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.

Which horse Deutsch will be on board come the big day remains to be seen, with Williams saying: “It’s far too early for questions like that. Hopefully we will run Royale Pagaille in the Cotswold Chase next Saturday and Ruby (Walsh) never used to make his mind up until final declarations did he?”

Jeriko Du Reponet remains likely to head for the M1 Agency Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon, despite the Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle being rearranged for Doncaster next Saturday.

The two-mile Grade Two event was lost from Haydock’s abandoned Saturday card, but was swiftly added to Town Moor’s fixture on January 27.

However, despite discussing a trip to Yorkshire with owner JP McManus, trainer Nicky Henderson is content to follow the ‘Shishkin route’ to the Cheltenham Festival and visit Huntingdon on February 8 with his unbeaten Supreme Novices’ Hurdle contender, who has done nothing but impress in two facile Newbury victories.

“It will probably still be Huntingdon, although I did talk to JP about it (Doncaster),” said Henderson.

“If JP wants him in there (then he will be entered for Doncaster), but he did say he did have the other horse (Jonjo O’Neill’s Fortunate Man) who was going to Haydock anyway. We weren’t going to Haydock because we don’t like the track in bad ground.

“The race goes to Doncaster and my first reaction was ‘goody-goody, we can go there with Jeriko’, but he did say the other horse was due to go to Haydock and he’s entitled to have first pick – and I’m perfectly happy with the Sidney Banks.”

Allaho returned to winning ways when claiming victory in the Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase at Thurles for a third time.

The Willie Mullins-trained 10-year-old was successful in the two-and-a-half-mile Grade Two event in 2021 and 2022, but missed the entirity of last season through injury.

Having returned to action this term with a smooth triumph at Clonmel, he was beaten into third behind Hewick when favourite for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

However, Allaho made all the running under Paul Townend to enjoy a straightforward 8-13 triumph here, seeing off stablemate Stattler by 13 lengths.

Assistant trainer Patrick Mullins said: “Allaho looked back to himself, having not quite got home in the King George.

“He isn’t getting any younger, it took him a while to warm up into his jumping (at Kempton) and he is better going left-handed.

“Paul was a little worried that he got a hard race in the King George and was coming back quite quickly but the further he went, the better he travelled and jumped.

“He is a big big horse who likes better ground and going left-handed at Cheltenham suits him down to the ground. I’d imagine it is all roads back to the Ryanair (Chase) now.

“Today’s race was a Grade One in all but name, with all being Grade One winners, so it is great for Thurles and it is a brilliant race to target every year.”

Allaho’s task was made all the more easier by the defection of Henry de Bromhead’s Envoi Allen and Capodanno.

Their absence left just four runners, with Appreciate It rated the main danger at 11-4 and 6-1 chance French Dynamite making up the numbers for Mouse Morris.

Allaho did all that was asked of him, though, travelling strongly throughout and only having to be nudged out to draw clear of 20-1 longshot Stattler up the home straight, with Appreciate It a further 11 lengths back in third.

Mullins added: “It is brilliant run out of Stattler, he had just started to sparkle in the last month, so it is great he is getting back to form. He had lost his form completely after the Gold Cup, so now we can aim big with him again.

“Danny (Mullins, on Appreciate It) said he had a good position, travelled great but once they quickened he found nothing. It is disappointing, as I thought he’d be challenging Allaho. He wears a tongue-strap, so maybe nicer ground will help him.”

Allaho was cut to 5-2 from 3-1 to win a third Ryanair Chase by both Betfair and Paddy Power, while Coral were even more impressed, promoting him to 2-1 favourite.

Tripoli Flyer booked his ticket to Aintree in the spring with an impressive display at Lingfield.

A keeping-on fifth on his rules debut at Chepstow in October, Fergal O’Brien’s five-year-old was a 15-2 shot for the opening Winter Million Open National Hunt Flat Race that kicked off the action on Sunday.

He showed plenty of speed and class to down the well-regarded Nicky Henderson-trained 8-11 favourite Kingston Pride in the hands of Paddy Brennan and now has connections dreaming of bigger and better objectives later in the season.

“We’ve got some lovely bumper horses, but I thought he was very good, he was very impressive,” said O’Brien.

“I thought the Henderson horse had solid point-to-point form and the horse who was second to him (The Enabler) has won a Listed race.

“We thought he would appreciate the surface and the good thing about this horse is his owner as he gave him time after his first race at Chepstow because he had a hard race.

“He was only a four-year-old then and we put him away, I think he went to Paddy’s for a bit and then to an event rider down the road who did a lot of work with him. He came back to us and we just had to put the finishing touches to him ready for today.

“Today was always a plan because we thought he would appreciate the better ground.

“The plan, please God, is to go straight to Aintree. We think he will love the flat track and Paddy said the ground, although he got through it at Chepstow, will be important to him.

“I thought he was impressive but he will have to do it on grass now. Going forward he’s a beautiful jumper, so we will look forward to him.”

There was a shock in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle as Ben Clarke’ 40-1 shot Ooh Betty landed the spoils with the assistance of the stewards.

It was Henderson’s Aston Martini that was first past the post following a ding-dong battle after the last, but the placings were reversed after an inquiry.

“She is battle-hardened and she’s not the sexy option in the race, but I think running in handicaps has served her well as she had to battle hard there and be brave,” said Clarke.

“She got bumped a couple of times coming up the home straight and Ben Jones (jockey) felt it cost him, but saying that, it is not the way we want to win a horse race – Nicky was incredibly gracious so I will drop him a bottle of wine.

“At the back of my mind, I’ve always thought if we get half-decent ground at Cheltenham, she could go there for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. We’ll sit tight and she doesn’t want a bog – she can’t run in proper, proper soft ground – so we will plot our way there.

“Endless Escape was beaten just over 10 lengths in the Cheltenham race last year and this mare would be a much speedier type, so we have half an idea what it takes – not as much as Nicky does – so we’ll see, it could be an option.”

JPR One stamped his class on the Download The Racing App Now Lightning Novices’ Chase at Lingfield.

A winner on his chasing debut at Newton Abbot in October, Joe Tizzard’s charge looked set to follow up in the Arkle Trial at Cheltenham the following month when unseating Brendan Powell at the final fence.

In December, he finished a creditable third in the Grade One Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown and got back on the winning trail in this Grade Two event, which was saved and rescheduled following the abandonment of the opening day of the Winter Million Festival on Friday.

There was drama from the off, with Matata hanging violently left on the approach to the first fence, badly impeding the 9-4 favourite Djelo, who had nowhere to go and ultimately came to grief.

Matata attempted to make every yard of the running from that point on, but 6-1 shot JPR One took over travelling strongly five fences from home and looked in control for the remainder of the race.

Matata did his best to make a race of it in the home straight and was making inroads on an idling JPR One late on, but the latter was good value for the winning margin of half a length.

Tizzard said: “He was really good today. I’m not making too many excuses for Sandown, I just think he got stuck in the Sandown ground, which you can.

“We had a little walk down the straight today and I was amazed by how well it walked. It was an easy watch today, he travelled great and jumped for fun and that’s the horse we think we’ve got up against the best two-mile novices in England anyway.

“We’ve always held him in pretty high regard and he perhaps didn’t get to the levels over hurdles, but certainly over fences, if he didn’t have that little stumble at the back of the last at Cheltenham, he was going to look majorly impressive.

“I think the ground at Sandown just took its toll but today is the best we’ve seen him and he’s got a fair bit about him on the day.

“He’s got so much athleticism and Brendan has got the hang of not getting too excited – and you could tell he enjoyed that today. We think he’s a smart horse with a big future.”

Coral cut JPR One to 16-1 from 25-1 for the Arkle Trophy and Tizzard confirmed that Cheltenham Festival contest as his next objective.

He added: “We’ll have to take him to the Arkle now, he deserves to be there.

“He’s only a novice for one year, so I would have thought we would have a crack at it. He’s already proved he runs well around Cheltenham, so I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”

Harmonya Maker bounced back to form with a gutsy victory in the Grade Two Carey Glass Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase at Thurles.

The seven-year-old had jumped left when beaten at Cork last month and put in a below-par effort when a distant third behind Hauturiere in Limerick’s Dawn Run over the festive period

However, Gordon Elliott’s charge turned the tables to beat that rival with a one-and-a-half-length verdict at 100-30 on this occasion.

Silent Approach set the pace, followed by Harmonya Maker and then Hauturiere, who was put on the back foot by a mistake five out.

Harmonya Maker took control between the final two fences and was always doing enough under Jack Kennedy to fend off Hauturiere’s late challenge.

Kennedy said: “She threw her race away jumping left at Cork two runs ago – whatever that was about that day, but she jumped straight today.

“She had been disappointing in her last couple of runs but did what we had been expecting her to do all along.

“For whatever reason, she had been disappointing but it is great for her to put her best foot forward and is back to what we thought she’d be.”

The winner was cut to 16-1 for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham with Betfair and Coral.

Former trainer Keith Reveley has spoken of his immense pride after seeing son James belatedly break his Grade One duck in Britain aboard the hugely impressive Il Est Francais at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

The Reveley name is, of course, steeped in northern jumps racing history, with Keith’s late mother Mary a pioneering female trainer who saddled more than 2,000 winners during an illustrious career.

Son Keith later took over the reins at the family’s Saltburn base before calling it a day himself in 2017, while James Reveley has gone on to establish himself as a leading jockey in France.

It is eight years since the proud Yorkshireman took the Gallic plunge and it could hardly have worked out better, as he has been crowned French champion jumps jockey on three occasions and won a whole host of major prizes, including a hat-trick in the prestigious Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

His father is delighted with his son’s achievements across the Channel, but admits it was extra special to see the Reveley name back in the big-race winner’s enclosure on home soil after Il Est Francais, jointly trained by another French-based Englishman in Noel George, produced a scintillating display in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.

“It was a great day and what made it even better was we managed to go, as we were en route to France to see the grandchildren and called in at Kempton on the way, so it was absolutely brilliant,” he said.

“The style with which the horse did it took me back to the old days, as James always rode well from the front. I remember him riding a horse called Night In Milan for me, who used to make the running and jump for fun around Doncaster.

“Funnily enough, we walked the track together an hour before the race at Kempton and for once everything worked out as we’d hoped. I said to him ‘Harry Cobden always likes to go a bit wide, so you should be able to get a nice run down the inside and it’s all about rhythm and jumping’.

“I said ‘make sure you give him a breather round this last corner, don’t press him the whole way’, and I honestly couldn’t believe how well everything was working out just as we’d spoken about, as it not very often does.”

Keith Reveley himself landed the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – then the Feltham – with the Mick Fitzgerald-ridden Ungaro in 2006, while James partnered the stable’s Tazbar to finish second to the brilliant Long Run three years later.

In Il Est Francais, though, Keith feels his son has come across the horse of a lifetime.

He added: “The Feltham was the only Grade One I actually won as a trainer, so it was a magical day to see James win it and we just pray the horse stays in one piece. Hopefully he won’t need to start training just yet, as long as that horse is still around!

“He’s an exceptional horse. I’ve actually been to Noel’s to see him work in a morning and he’s the most gorgeous horse to look at.”

Connections have already nominated the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris as Il Est Francais’ first major target for this year, with a return to Kempton for the King George also high on his agenda.

Should he come through both of those assignments unscathed, then a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup may loom large in 2025, although Reveley senior does have some reservations about the suitability of that particular test.

“I must admit I think the Kempton track suits him, as the horse has got loads of natural pace, and whether he wants three and a quarter miles around Cheltenham is another thing,” he went on.

“I know he’s won around Auteuil on soft ground, but they go much slower early on in the races there and whether he’ll suit the slog of Cheltenham, we’ll have to wait and see.

“James is adamant he will suit the Grand Steep – because the pace is quite relaxed early on over there, he’s confident that the trip won’t be a problem for him, but off a flat-out pace over three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham, it’s a different ball game altogether.”

While Reveley certainly does not begrudge his son’s success, he admits he had initially harboured hopes he would continue to ride in Britain at least part-time to aid his own career before the lure of French riches proved too much for him to resist.

“He used to stay with me for the winter and then go back to France every April time and stay there for the summer,” he recalled.

“I always thought it was working well, as he’d usually get maybe 50 winners in England during the winter and I thought he had a good career, but the French people kept saying if he went full-time he’d be champion and, as it turned out, the first year he went there full-time, he was champion, so it worked out.

“I wouldn’t say it was devastating for me because I’m proud he’s done so well, but it more or less put paid to my training career because it’s a hard enough job as it is without your son moving away.

“To be fair, I think the French racing suits him because he’s always been a good horseman over a jump and obviously in France, you’ve got the bullfinch fences and different types of obstacles.

“In English races, they go very fast early on and it’s a little bit of a war of attrition, whereas the French tend to be a little more tactical and rely on the jumping a little bit more. It’s worked out very well, he’s had a great time and hopefully he has a few more years at it yet.

“It was nice to see him do it on English television at Kempton. I’ve had a lot of people commenting how good it was to see him winning over here and how it’s nice to see he’s still got his northern accent!”

Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree is reported to be loving life in retirement, almost five years after running his final race.

In an era increasingly dominated by a handful of powerhouse yards and owners with deep pockets, the recently-turned 17-year-old was an all too rare diamond in the rough for the husband and wife training partnership of Mark and Sara Bradstock.

Nine wins from 18 starts tells only half the story of a rollercoaster ride which saw Coneygree become the first horse since Captain Christy 41 years earlier to claim Gold Cup glory as a novice in 2015.

Just minutes after being pulled up in a handicap chase at Ascot in February 2019, Sara Bradstock announced the fairytale had come to an end, but she is delighted with how her pride and joy is enjoying life out of the spotlight.

“He’s at home with me and lives just outside the house. He’s having a lovely time and goes out leading the babies and does whatever he wants really,” she said.

“He enjoys letting himself out of his stable quite often! He has done a bit of ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) in the past and actually he did a team chase with my son in the autumn, which he very much enjoyed, but he won’t be doing too many of those because it’s a bit hard on the old limbs!

“He’s pretty happy really and I think it’s very important these horses stay in a place where people know them well. We know everything about him and therefore we know if he’s feeling a bit sore or what have you, but at the moment he’s in good nick and gets ridden out whenever I’ve got time.

“He deserves everything he gets. He quite likes people coming round and saying ‘can I look at Coneygree’, because he likes to be the centre of attention and is not very happy when there’s people in the yard and they’re not looking at him!

“There is something weird about good horses, they just know they’re important – and he definitely knows he’s very important.”

Coneygree’s racing journey began in November 2011, when the son of Karinga Bay – bred by Sara Bradstock’s late father, Lord Oaksey – made a successful start to his career in a Uttoxeter bumper.

“We had him in training as a three-year-old but he was very big and tall and weak, so he’d probably been with us for a year by the time he ran,” Bradstock recalled.

“We knew he was nice before he went to Uttoxeter, but he was never a flying workhorse. We knew he was a great athlete, in that you couldn’t seem to make him tired, but if anything wanted to work faster than him, he was happy to let them.

“We knew he was pretty good, but we didn’t know he was as good as he was.”

While well beaten in a Listed bumper at Newbury on his next outing, Coneygree bounced back with a vengeance the following season, winning his first three starts over hurdles, including back-to-back Grade Two victories at Cheltenham.

He had to make do with minor honours in third behind two subsequent Festival winners in At Fishers Cross and The New One next time, on what proved to be his final outing over hurdles, as he suffered the first of several injury setbacks which plagued his career.

Bradstock added: “He’s got these very long back legs, which were partly what made him so good, but they were awfully fragile and it was during that season over hurdles when he got his first stress fracture.

“When we were getting him ready the following season, he jumped onto a stone and cut his tendon, so he had another five months off after that, so he ended up being off for about 18 months in all.”

Coneygree’s chasing career belatedly got under way in the winter of 2014, although not at the first time of asking, as he was withdrawn at the start prior to his planned fencing debut at Plumpton by the on-course veterinary team, much to the frustration of his connections.

In the end, though, it mattered not, as the following week he made a successful start over the larger obstacles in Grade Two company at Newbury before striking Grade One gold for the first time when landing the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day by a distance.

If it was not clear already, it was becoming obvious the Bradstocks had a serious weapon on their hands.

“I’d much rather have cruised around Plumpton, but the vets wouldn’t let us, which was just one of those stupid things, so we ended up going into a Grade Two at Newbury and then Kempton,” said Bradstock.

“I remember everybody saying he only won like he did at Kempton because a couple of the others fell over, but they fell over because they were novices trying to jump with him and they just couldn’t.”

It was a couple of months later when the Gold Cup dream came into sharper focus after Coneygree made it three from three over fences in Newbury’s Denman Chase, his first forray outside of novice company.

The Wantage team considered going back into novice company at the Cheltenham Festival, but Bradstock insists the decision to go for Gold Cup glory was ultimately relatively straightforward.

She said: “Everybody thought it was the most extraordinary thing they’ve ever seen, but for us it was a no-brainer because he was very fragile.

“You could see he had a chance in the Gold Cup and if he went and won the RSA (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase) by 30 lengths, we’d have been thinking ‘why didn’t we go for it?’.

“He had already had a couple of stress fractures, so while he was fit and well, we just thought ‘why not give it a go?’.”

What followed was a sensational display in the Cotswolds as Coneygree belied his inexperience with a relentless front-running display under Nico de Boinville.

Asked what she could remember of the occasion, Bradstock replied: “Absolutely nothing! It was a complete blur.

“I remember coming home, but I actually don’t remember the day. The main thing I remember is getting him home and he was OK, which with him was always the main thing.”

The following November, Coneygree made a successful start to his next campaign in a small-field conditions race at Sandown, but it proved to be his final victory.

He returned from another year out to finish second in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and was third in a humdinger of a Punchestown Gold Cup later that season, but only made it to the track five times in the next two years and failed to complete on four occasions.

“He came back and won at Sandown and then he started having more problems, but he did run that great race at Punchestown, where he suffered another overreach, otherwise I think he could have won,” said Bradstock.

“It was difficult trying to keep him in one piece after that. I just think the wear and tear stopped him having control of his back legs and he started to overreach quite badly – and that was, in the end, what stopped him, as you don’t want to go on and on until they get hurt.

“He did extremely well for us and won a Gold Cup – and without all his problems, I think he could have won several.”