In his exclusive column, the trainer discusses a 'fairytale' Saturday at Sandown which saw his stables register two impressive Grade 1 victories
Saturday was one of those really special days and one which I’ll cherish forever.
Winning two Grade 1s on the one afternoon ridden by different sons is the stuff of fairytales.
We have an incredible team here and I cannot thank my staff enough for all their efforts.
It’s been tough getting Sire De Grugy back to his best and, even though he won impressively on Saturday, I promise you he is capable of much better still.
I know there is more to come from him and that win is just a really good step back in the right direction.
What pleased me the most on Saturday was that his jumping was outstanding and he cut out the silliness he has shown in that department in some of his recent races.
Watching from the stands I knew when he sailed over the ditch (the second fence) that he was going to be tough to beat.
Plenty has been written and said about the mid-air collision between us and Special Tiara at the last, but if you watch the race again my horse is going away at the line. He was really brave and was just as inconvenienced by the coming together as the runner-up.
As for where we go next, we’ll just see how he is over the coming days. He seems fine at the moment and has come out of the race really well.
We’ve got the possibility of the Desert Orchid at Kempton in a few weeks, or we could wait for the Clarence House at Ascot in January.
We won’t rush him and hopefully all roads will lead back to Cheltenham in March where we’ll try to win back our Betway Champion Chase crown.
As for Ar Mad, our other Grade 1 winner on Saturday, he really did blow me away with the way he jumped.
I’ve never seen a horse jump fences like that before and I thought Josh gave him an unbelievable ride giving him a breather at a crucial time and then quickening again turning in.
I know I said it on the day, and some may think I’m biased because he is my son, but there aren’t many jockeys out there with the nouse he showed.
There may be a race for Ar Mad at Kempton over Christmas, but again, we’ll see where we are in a few days.
He won’t be going to Cheltenham. He showed us at Plumpton that he doesn’t really like going left-handed.
READ: Richard Johnson: It was right that Tingle Creek result stood
READ: Gary Moore: Sire De Grugy is exactly where I want him ahead of Tingle Creek
