West Coast and connections post race
- Yet again the magic of jumps racing created history on the final day of the 2024 Grand National Festival of Racing.
- Wonderful steeplechaser WEST COAST carried 7kg more than his seven opponents all on the 66kg minimum to record his third successive win in the time honoured Grand National Steeplechase. Diminutive AULD JOCK ran second in the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge sponsored feature with ever consistent CAPTAIN’S RUN in third. As he did the previous two years Shaun Fannin was the rider with the mercurial trainer Mark Oulaghan recording his ninth win in the race.
- Earlier in the day Mark Oulaghan won his sixth Grand National Hurdles with BERRY THE CASH. That win makes Oulaghan the winningest trainer in the history of the race. BERRY THE CASH recorded his seventh successive win when beating RUN JAKKO RUN and METALLO in the Hospitality NZ Canterbury sponsored prestige jumping race. Rider Portia Matthew battled illness during the week to take the ride and rode a superb race to ensure the chestnut was able to carry his 73kg to victory. Fellow star hurdler NEDWIN also carried 73kg but was pulled up in the running.
- NEDWIN’s trainers Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal did have some compensation winning the Mickey Beecroft Memorial hurdles with DICTATION in the opening event. A large contingent of Mickey’s family and friends were on course to remember a man who was a local character and worked on the hurdle gang at Riccarton Park for 52 years.
- Popular Ashburton trainers Bevan and Robyn Wilson also scored a brace of wins with VOCTOR ROUGE in the third and VICTORIAN CHARM in the last. Both were ridden by Denby-Rose Tait who added a third win aboard ASTRADEEL in the Vernon & Vazey Truck Parts Rating 75.
- The two feature flat races went to Riverton Galloper MASTER MAKO in the 1800 metres HeatStore Open Handicap and Matamata visitor CORK won the Stephanie Murray Mortgages Open over the 1400 metres.