Ryan Mania, Midnight Shadow and the unsung stable lad Reece Jarosiewicz priming Sue Smith’s horse for Cheltenham glory

STEEPLECHASING STAR Midnight Shadow’s quest to make Cheltenham history today is helped by a special camaraderie at the weather-beaten West Yorkshire stables where he’s trained to perfection.

Today, Yorkshire jump racing’s standard-bearer will attempt to add the feature Racing Post Gold Cup to the prestigious Paddy Power Gold Cup that he won in dramatically memorable circumstances four weeks ago.

Just three horses have previously won these two showpiece handicap chases at Cheltenham in the same season – Pegwell Bay, Senor El Betrutti and Exotic Dancer.

And while Midnight Shadow’s owners Cyril and Aafke Clarke, trainer Sue Smith and jockey Ryan Mania are familiar figures in racing, they all acknowledge the importance of the horse’s bond with Barnsley-born stable lad Reece Jarosiewicz.

He’s the unsung hero – one of thousands in racing – whose care is integral to the success of such special horses. He’s also as bullish about Midnight Shadow’s chances today as he was last month. By way of illustration, he recounts morning breakfast at Smith’s Bingley stables two days before the Paddy Power Gold Cup. The banter is beginning and Jarosiewicz assures the trainer that “Shadow will definitely win”.

This prompts Thomas Willmott, the stable’s quietly-spoken conditional rider, to declare that he’ll be the first to shake Jarosiewicz by the hand if his prediction comes to fruition.

And then the normally reserved Smith raises the stakes...she promises to kiss Jarosiewicz if the horse became just the third Yorkshire-trained winner of the celebrated race. “She was as good as her word,” he said.

The emotional embrace – one which touched the hearts of so many in racing – came shortly before the likable Jarosiewicz raised his right arm aloft as he led his champion horse into the hallowed winners’ enclosure.

He’s also hopeful of history repeating itself this afternoon despite the horse’s seven pound hike in the handicap. “I’m more than looking forward to it. I think he’s got a hell of a chance,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“He is absolutely bouncing – I don’t think the last race took much out of him at all. In my eyes, he probably feels a little better than when he last went there (Cheltenham).

“When he won the Paddy Power, and he went back to the stable, his tail was up in the air and he was dancing on his feet. He’s one of those horses – he’s constantly trying to please you.

“He enjoys his job – whether it be at the races or cantering up the gallops in the morning. He’s always doing the best he possibly can. Whether it is exercise, or on the track, he’s always trying to please.”

From riding Midnight Shadow every day, Jarosiewicz also believes the horse – who often saves his best for Cheltenham – is stronger than 12 months ago when he was runner-up in the corresponding renewal of today’s two-and-a-half-mile race.

And the pride of Jarosiewicz is palpable as he recalls his early life in Barnsley – his great grandfather hailed from Poland – and how he was regularly taken to the races from the age of one.

He harboured initial ambitions to be a jockey and went to Doncaster’s Northern Racing College before injury, and disillusionment, put paid to his chances.

He was at risk of being lost to racing before he made a chance call to Menston trainer Jo Foster asking if she had any opportunities. She had not – but she knew Smith and her husband Harvey, the renowned showjumping legend, were looking for staff. “I put the phone down, called Sue up and the rest is history,” said Jarosiewicz, who moved to the Grand National-winning stables just over nine years ago and is now the much-respected head lad.

His work ethic is such that he’s been entrusted with the care of Vintage Clouds who rolled back the years to win the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Yet a combination of a collarbone injury, painkillers and deep sleep meant he missed the alarm call to go to the races on an eerily unforgettable day when the country was still in lockdown.

And it explains why, for him, the privilege of leading up Midnight Shadow last month matched the stable’s National triumph with Auroras Encore in 2013.

As Mania’s mount turned for home and disputed the lead heading to the final fence, Jarosiewicz was confident as he saw Midnight Shadow prick his ears.

Yet, at the final fence when the horse stumbled heavily on landing, he was in despair. “My heart was in my mouth. To be fair to him, he had right to stand up and still had plenty left in the tank,” said the 26-year-old. “When I got to the horse, I said to Ryan (Mania) ‘I told you’.”

That Jarosiewicz continues to exude such optimism is also testament to Midnight Shadow’s smooth build-up in the snow and cold of Baildon Moor at a no-frills stables where prospective owners are always warned not to expect hanging baskets.

“Harvey’s a good laugh and is always in good spirits at breakfast,” he says. “It’s not as demanding as other places. It’s very professionally organised but we are like a big family.

“We all have our ups, we have our downs, but we get over it and we are one big happy family. It’s an absolute privilege to be associated with a horse like Midnight Shadow. We are only a small northern yard, but to have a horse like him to go down there to war with, it’s special.”

Midnight Shadow will be joined by the outsider Joke Dancer who is also owned by the Clarkes – the Smith team will leave at daybreak for the Cotswolds.

Yet there’s also realism that it will take another career-best performance by the eight-year-old gentle giant of a horse to win again. “He’s gone up seven pounds which is a bit of a hike,” said the aforementioned Mania.

“It’s a good race and there are one or two near the bottom of the weights who may stripper fitter for their last run.

“You just don’t know. I expect him to run a cracking race and it’s certainly winnable. If he finishes in the first four, he will have run a cracker.

“The Paddy Power was a great achievement for the horse – he and the whole team deserved the big win. As a jockey, you’ve got to move on and find the next big winner.”

It’s a sentiment that is also shared by the ever optimistic Reece Jarosiewicz.

Why owners chose Cheltenham over Kempton

SUE SMITH says Midnight Shadow has nothing to lose by lining up in today’s feature Racing Post Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Connections initially opted for a tilt at Kempton’s King George VI Chase on Boxing Day in the aftermath of the horse’s epic win in last month’s Paddy Power Gold Cup.

But the prospect of a formidably strong Irish challenge at Kempton – and Midnight Shadow’s previous course form at Cheltenham where he has three wins to his name – prompted a rethink on the part of owners Cyril and Aafke Clarke.

And, while Midnight Shadow is now seven pounds higher in the handicap, the Yorkshire trainer is hopeful of another bold showing in the shadow of Cleeve Hill.

The key will be jockey Ryan Mania’s ability not to hit the front too soon – the horse idled significantly when left with an ultimately decisive advantage after Coole Cody’s luckless fall at the penultimate fence in the Paddy Power.

Smith and Mania are also mindful that they’re conceding 11 pounds to a horse of the calibre of the Evan Williams-trained Coole Cody – and the importance of getting in a good rhythm at the first fences in order to conserve stamina.

“The horse is in very good form, hopefully as good as form as last time,” Smith told The Yorkshire Post. “All is well with him so we’re looking forward to the race.

“Mr Clarke was very keen to go for the race – Midnight Shadow acts very well round Cheltenham. It’s going to be a tough task. It’s tough for any horse to carry seven pounds and go and do the same job.

“But he’s a strongly travelling horse, he’s a strongly made horse, and there’s no reason why he can’t compete. If he wins, marvellous. If he doesn’t, he will have done his best and that’s all you can ask for.”

Smith was also due to saddle Joke Dancer in the same race for the Clarkes, but connections have instead chosen to run the horse at Carlisle tomorrow.