Farriery Apprentice Rides to Victory
When you’re 6ft 6in and over 13 stone it’s only natural that you’ll want to raceride. It follows that you’ll have your first mount under Rules at the sporting dreamland that is Cheltenham. And, of course, you’ll win.
And your horse will be a rank outsider who had only ever won a maiden point, never set foot on a proper racecourse, was running only because he would not get into another race for which he had qualified, and was his owner/trainer’s first runner in a hunter chase. And you will have beaten the joint favourites who, between them, had nine wins this campaign.
Improbable, Yes. Outrageous? Certainly. But straight from the pages of the “You Couldn’t Make it Up” manual, this scenario was played out at Prestbury Park in May when towering 22 year old apprentice farrier Charlie Sands rode Sue Wilson’s James Pine to victory in the Colin Nash Memorial at 40-1.
The horse’s form suggested that the SP was a bit skinny. But, after hardly being out of the first three, James Pine turned for home full of running, joined joint-favourite Marblehead at the second last and powered clear up the hill to cue frantic whip-wielding celebrations as Charlie stood very tall in his irons crossing the line.
“I was expecting him to run into the first four, hopefully”, said Charlie. “Last time at Andoversford, he did’nt like coming down the hill and I wasn’t really handy enough. He then ran on up the hill and just got beat for second. So I knew that if I was in with a shout coming back down the hill again, I could pick them off.
“I haven’t had a lot of experience”, he added. “I’ve had about 30 point to point rides. I’m just satisfying a craving. We’ll see how it goes now and hopefully have a nice season next year”.
*Herefordshire College of Technology would like to thank Horse & Hounds magazine for allowing the publishing of this article on our website.
