Johnson harnesses Goulanes’s ability and character to win Midlands crown

THE clue to the outcome of the Betfred Midlands National actually came in the RSA Chase at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival, the race that Jim Culloty’s Lord Windermere won before landing the Gold Cup on Friday.
Goulanes wind the Betfred Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire).Goulanes wind the Betfred Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire).
Goulanes wind the Betfred Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter (Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire).

Plugging on into a respectable sixth place was Goulanes, the horse that provided in-form trainer David Pipe with a fourth successive victory on Saturday in the Uttoxeter marathon.

Perhaps the Gold Cup form, decried by some in the aftermath of Friday’s upset, is not so bad after all.

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A horse that came to prominence when narrowly winning Wetherby’s Towton Novices Chase in February 2013, it was a popular victory with racegoers – the Uttoxeter executive promised free admission to a future meeting if Pipe completed his personal four-timer.

Held up at the rear of the field as Kim Bailey’s Charlie Hall Chase winner Harry Topper made a series of jumping errors on ground unsuitably quick for the horse’s liking, jockey Richard Johnson bided his time before mounting his challenge two out on the Crabbie’s Grand National contender.

It was a slightly fortuitous spare ride for Johnson after Pipe’s stable jockey Tom Scudamore opted to ride at Kempton without success – the only mistake that he made in a week that saw him record three high-profile winners at Cheltenham aboard Western Warhorse, Dynaste and Ballynagour.

“He was very good, they went a really hard gallop early on. The ground is drying but it’s tacky and hard work,” said Johnson, who had two winners himself at the Festival.

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“He jumped well bar the third last; Tom Scudamore said to humour him a bit, but he jumped the last well.

“He’s a bit of a character but he’s got ability.

“When he got to the front he was looking at everything. It’s been a great week.”

Owner Roger Brookhouse, whose colours were carried to victory by Western Warhorse in the Arkle, was a relieved man after Goulanes swerved the Kim Muir at Cheltenham.

“The ground was drying up at Cheltenham so we decided to come here,” he said.

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“Kim Bailey walked the track and said there was juice in it so that was good enough for me. As long as it was soft enough we thought he had a good chance,” he said.

Owner Graham Wylie has confirmed that he will not lodge an appeal against the result of the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup after his horse On His Own was narrowly denied victory by Lord Windermere in a frantic finish in which the first four horses veered across the track.

Ruby Walsh is now back home in Ireland after undergoing successful surgery on his broken right arm, though he will miss the Aintree and Punchestown festivals.

Meanwhile, friends of Daryl Jacob say he is “in good spirits” after surgery on Saturday.

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He broke his leg, knee and elbow when his horse jinked on Friday and threw him through a running rail onto a hard standing area.

Doctors have issued a more upbeat assessment about 21-year-old Bryan Cooper, who has undergone a further operation to pin together his badly smashed leg.

His injuries have been compared to those suffered by motorcyclists in high-speed crashes.

Walsh, Jacob and Cooper have been joined on the injury sidelines by AP McCoy, who could miss the next two weeks voluntarily after several heavy falls at Cheltenham – including one that saw him come to grief at the last fence of the Festival’s finale.

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With a 19th successive title assured, he can, at least, recuperate before the National – and then the start of the 2014-15 campaign in late April.

However, it was patently clear at Cheltenham last week that injuries – and time – are beginning to catch up with the champion who could hardly raise a smile after his win on Taquin Du Seuil in Thursday’s opener.

Trainer David Bridgwater has confirmed that Gold Cup third The Giant Bolster is unlikely to run again this season.

Now placed in three successive Gold Cups, a relentlessly positive Bridgwater said: “We were the top English horse, which I thought might be the case.

“There’s not a bother on him and he’s in great old nick.

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“I would say that will be it for the season, but I obviously need to talk to his owner about that.

“I don’t really see any point in running him again and we’ll look again to the Gold Cup next year.

“For the horse to be placed in three Gold Cups is now pretty phenomenal.”

The veteran Somersby, second in the Queen Mother Champion Chase under Guiseley-born jockey Dominic Elsworth, could be aimed at the Aintree and Punchestown festivals, said its delighted trainer Mick Channon.