Pritchard rides to race glory (From Gazette Series)

Pritchard rides to race glory

RACEHORSE trainer Phil Pritchard was celebrating this week after claiming a spectacular win at the home of British horse racing.

Pritchard, one of the most unique trainers in the business as he combines his role with his full-time duties as a family doctor, saddled up his first ever winner at Cheltenham Races on Sunday, a 50-1 shot called Davoski.

The Wotton-under-Edge GP runs the Timber Pond Racing stable in Purton, and admitted that Sunday's win was a defining moment is his 20-year racing career. He told the Gazette: "It's a dream come true really. Cheltenham is our local course, buts it's like Twickenham in rugby or Wembley in football. It's where the big people compete.

"I'm still coming down from it all."

Pritchard, a former Gloucester rugby star who played on the wing at Kingsholm between 1976 and 1983 before turning his hand to racing, has overseen plenty of runners at his yard in Dauncey's Farm in Purton, but his Cheltenham win will surely claim a special place in his heart.

The purchasing of Davoski was something of a gamble, and Pritchard later revealed that the horse was the most expensive that he had ever bought, at a price of seven thousand guineas.

He said: "This is what we've always done. We always buy older horses that have lost their way.

"Sir Robert Ogden had owned Davoski, and he is a top trainer, but the horse had not won for him in two years and so he sent the horse to the sales. I bought him at the Doncaster Sales in May for seven thousand guineas, which is twice our normal price.

"Lady Mariah Coventry is the owner, and she encouraged me to buy Davoski. She knew that the horse had talent."

Pritchard, a former amateur National Hunt jockey who also acts as the course doctor at Cheltenham's Prestbury Park, took seven horses to the meeting on Sunday.

Davoski was one of 13 runners in the 3.15pm race, and defied the odds by coming in well ahead of race favourite Marek Equal, a 4-1 shot that never made an impact on the race.

Pritchard, who praised the horse's ability to rediscover its old form and winning pedigree, compared the win to another great thrill that he has experienced in his life, scoring a try at Kingsholm.

The whole weekend at Cheltenham was a memorable experience for the delighted doctor, who added: "On the Friday night at the Champion Jockeys Dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting with Martin Pipe, the champion trainer, who went and had four winners the next day. I must have picked up his wine glass by mistake during the evening!

"He was the first person to come over in the winners enclosure to congratulate us. It was a very big honour."

L For more information on Timber Pond Racing, visit the stable's website at www.timberpondracing.com.