Baby Run & Willy T-D enjoy compensation at Aintree

07-04-2011

Willy (left) with elder brother Sam at Cheltenham Festival 2011 Photo credit: AJA

After his heartbreaking unseating at the last in the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham Festival, Baby Run gave Willy Twiston-Davies the thrill of his life at Aintree today when winning the John Smith’s Fox Hunters in fine style.  Always happy in front, Baby Run was well clear when jumping the last and, in spite of a late rally from Boxer Georg, picked up to win easily.  Sam said “This is the best day of my life and it makes up for Cheltenham.  He’s some animal and is such a good jumper – he helped me a lot round there.  I was worried he’d stop on the run-in but he didn’t – this is the best!”

The Willie Mullins trained Boxer Georg was three-quarters of a length back in second.  Patrick Mullins  said “He gave me a brilliant ride.  My father gave me a lot of advice about the fences and it all went to plan apart from the final furlong.  Willie gave him a great ride and I wouldn’t begrudge him that after what happened at Cheltenham.

Nick Sutton finished third on Offshore Account and could not find words to describe the experience.  All horses and jockeys returned unscathed.

The race left a sour note for amateurs with 4 jockeys (Sam Waley-Cohen, Alan Berry, Josh Halley and Declan Queally) handed 4-day bans for remounting and returning to the unsaddling without the horses being examined by a vet, and Tom Weston receiving a 2-day ban as the Stewards considered he failed to ride out Silver Adonis for 6th place, even though the horse was clearly exhausted.