Commanche Red’s victory at Bonvilston on Saturday in the final leg of The Retraining of Racehorses and Jockey Club Veteran Horse Series carried him to top of the leaderboard.
The Jenny Gordon-trained ten-year-old, who was ridden by Molly Landau, pipped long-time leader Clara Sorrento to the title and in the process won a £500 saddlery voucher.
Commanche Red pictured above right, upsides Goldencard and Harriet Tudor - Photo Carl Evans
Commanche Red concluded the series on 14pts, with Clara Sorrento on 10pts and Diplomate Sivola third with 8pts.
In previous seasons the RoR and The Jockey Club have sponsored a series of races for veteran horses and finished with a final at a point-to-point course. This season, for the first time, it became a points-based competition.
Gordon, who trains near Winchester in Hampshire, said of the series: “It’s a good initiative for older horses and something to target, and hopefully more people will be aware of the points system next season. It’s great that RoR and The Jockey Club support our sport.”
Commanche Red had pulled up on much slower ground on his previous start, but Landau said: “He loved the quicker ground today. He’s been the best schoolmaster you could get.”
Richard Russell of The Jockey Club presents trophies to Jenny Gordon, while Molly Landau receives a riders' prize from Barbara Thomas - Photo Carl Evans
*Full report from Bonvilston to be published later this week