Sheffield prospect now has a star to hit headlines

It is paying off. The Sheffield-born rider has just enjoyed a breakthrough season with a career-best 21 winners thanks to his burgeoning partnership with the well-established Middleham trainer Micky Hammond.

It culminated with a remarkable second-place finish aboard stable star Just Cameron in last Thursday’s Grade One Ryanair Novice Chase at the prestigious Punchestown Festival to Un De Sceaux, the latest steeplechasing star from the all-conquering yard of Ireland’s champion trainer Willie Mullins.

Beaten by just three lengths, no horse in England and Ireland has got as close to Un De Sceaux, who fired the imagination of racing devotees with a scintillating success in the Racing Post Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. He could be a horse for the generations.

As such, Colliver regards his second-place finish as the equal of his 47 career wins to date and hopes Just Cameron can become a headline horse that takes his career to new heights next season. A rematch with the Ruby Walsh-ridden Un De Sceaux in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the signature contest for two-mile steeplechasers, is not beyond the realms of possibility if horse and rider keep improving.

After all, this was the first time that the rider, 24 next week, had ridden in a Grade One race or even competed in Ireland.

He will only learn from this personal adventure that saw him travel in the horsebox to Ireland and back with Just Cameron’s stable lad Joe Wright and driver Alec Dent. They are already itching for a return trip.

“It was a great experience and, hopefully, we will be back across there,” says Colliver, who admits to being one of the less academic students at Aston Comprehensive in Swallownest, Sheffield, before joining the Northern Racing College in Doncaster and then teaming up with Hammond.

“To be honest, I just left it up to ‘Cameron’. I didn’t want to disappoint him. Un De Sceaux led the whole way, and we were second, but it felt like we were making up ground at each fence.

“I was over the moon. Coming to the last, I thought we might get upsides but it wasn’t to be. Finishing second to Un De Sceaux, and beaten three lengths, I don’t think any horse has got closer to the winner. He’s won 12 of his 13 races – the only time he was beat was when he fell – so it was some effort, a career highlight.

“It’s the speed of these Grade Ones. You’re going twice as fast as you do in a normal race. ‘Cameron’ seems to keep improving and he attacks his fences. He’s tough; that’s the best thing about him. He wants it more than anything else. If the horse wants to do it, that’s 90 per cent of the battle.”

Just Cameron has been a revelation for Colliver, one of the North’s top conditionals, and Hammond since joining their stable at the end of last year from Phil Kirby’s yard – the relatively lightly-raced eight-year-old recorded eye-catching successes at Sedgefield, Ayr, Carlisle and Haydock before heading across the Irish Sea.

However, Hammond, a former jump jockey himself, had no qualms about entrusting such a high-profile ride to the tenacious Tyke, who was not fazed by riding against the mercurial Walsh.

“He’s a hard worker and he gets on very well with Just Cameron,” said the trainer.

“The horse is out to grass and will spend the summer at Kate Walton’s. I hope he continues to improve and we might even have another crack at Un De Sceaux at Cheltenham. He’s a horse who could also be ideal for the Castleford Chase at Wetherby.

“It’s good for the North that we have such an exciting horse. It’s also a real good team effort at Oakwood Stables – Joe gets most of the glory but Joe Wright, who looks after the horse, and the rest of the team are just as important.”

It was a point echoed by Colliver, who was back on the road yesterday morning, collecting haylage.

He does not mind. He now has the whole summer to anticipate more days in the limelight.

However, it has not always been this straightforward. Colliver, who does not hail from a racing family, has, on occasion, questioned his ability and credits a day transporting horses to Scotland with the 2005 Scottish National-winning rider Keith Mercer for helping to change his mindset and erase the self-doubt.

“We just spoke racing and it opened my eyes,” said Colliver. “He just said to take each day as it comes and grab the opportunity when it comes along. It was good advice. The weighing room is like a family in the North and lads like Brian Harding, Jason Maguire and Denis O’Regan have been good.

“Oakwood Stables is also a good place to learn. It’s not a massive yard so Micky and the whole team can get to know the horses and to keep improving. You’ve got some horses who are not the best in the world, but they still win their fair share of races. Then there are horses like Just Cameron. They’re why you do the job.”