Greatest racing moment for Andy Edwards when L’Homme Presse lines up in Gold Cup

When he acquires a newcomer to his string, he is not just its owner but he becomes its guardian and friend. Now one of his greatest equine pals, L’Homme Presse, will bid to give him the greatest moment in his racing life when lining up in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

L’Homme Presse is far from the first horse Edwards has been involved in nor will he be the last, but he has easily been the most successful and has taken Edwards – along with his wife Pam and fellow co-owners Peter and Patricia Pink – on a magical journey which has already incorporated triumph at the Cheltenham Festival.

Not too dissimilar to his co-owner, L’Homme Presse’s story has humble beginnings and his French racing career was somewhat tottering on the brink when the then injured son of Diamond Boy was plucked out of a field in Normandy by an admiring Edwards.

Little did the gelding know at the time, but he had just gained his most valuable ally, and not just a new owner, but someone who – alongside trainer Venetia Williams – was prepared to put in the hours of care and nurture required to help him fulfil his destiny.

“I adopt a soul for life,” said Edwards, explaining his ownership philosophy.

“That’s what happens and that’s what it is for me. I become their guardian not their owner and as any good guardian who adopts a child or animal it is a big responsibility and you need to guide them through their life as best you can.

“We have to be patient as owners and the other three all buy into the philosophies. We feel like we have been rewarded, but more importantly, the horse has been rewarded. Because of our beliefs, the horse has been able to be the best he can be every time he goes out.”

There is something warming about Edwards’ hands-on approach to both ownership and L’Homme Presse.

‘The horse is my number one priority’ is anything but meaningless where Edwards is concerned. L’Homme Presse’s well-being is always at the forefront of his mind during regular phone calls with his trainer and the frequent visits to the handler’s Herefordshire base.

“I’m in lots to see L’Homme Presse, I go two or three times a week,” continued Edwards.

“Venetia is an amazing lady and all of her staff – Jess and Beth and the vets – are all brilliant.

“When Venetia rings me, I tell her not to say hello just to say ‘all good’ before she says anything else, and luckily, she mostly does.”

L’Homme Presse’s connections have felt the full range of emotions the Cheltenham Festival can provide over the past few years.

In 2022 there was ecstasy as their charge stormed home on a wet Wednesday afternoon in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, but their was also a sense of longing 12 months ago when their staying star was sat on the sidelines as the Gold Cup took centre stage on the final afternoon of the meeting – a race Edwards actually watched from right at the heart of the action.

“The win in the Brown Advisory was the most fantastic day you could imagine,” continued Edwards.

“At the time I stood there in the rain with my palms held up and looking up to the sky with a big grin saying ‘this is liquid sunshine’.

“Our friends are Bruce and Karen who own Ahoy Senor and they very kindly invited us last year to be with them in the paddock and for lunch. It was really lovely of them and they said to us ‘you should be here, it’s not right you are not here’. It was a lovely thing of them to do.

“But at the same time it was quite a weird feeling being their for the Gold Cup cheering on someone else’s horse – which of course we were happy to do. However, the year before we had thought we would be the ones standing in that paddock with our own horse.”

Now L’Homme Presse is just days away from finally getting his chance to line-up in the blue riband, the summit of a long adventure that has finally reached its peak.

“It’s a privilege to be there and you have to pinch yourself,” said Edwards. “The four of us (the co-owners), none of us have come from privileged backgrounds and to be in this position is dreamland.

“We have all got to try to enjoy it whatever happens and celebrate. It has been a five-year journey for me now personally and to get to that pinnacle of the sport is a massive win in its own right and an incredible achievement.

“Our attitude at the moment is to enjoy the build-up and enjoy every moment. We will accept whatever happens. I fully understand the highs and lows of this incredible sport that we’re all involved in.

“We’ve got lots of friends coming down and we will enjoy the build-up. It’s going to be a fantastic race whoever wins and a great spectacle. If all horses come back happy that would be brilliant.”

L’Homme Presse would spend over a year on the sidelines before making a triumphant return at Lingfield in January, but there was to be no repeat of heroics when he was tasked with dropping back in distance for the Ascot Chase last month.

The two-mile-five-furlong Grade One event was scheduled to be the ideal spot for L’Homme Presse to fine-tune his engine ahead of his Cheltenham assignment, but with drying ground and the emphasis becoming more about speed than endurance, the nine-year-old was unable to lay a glove on track-and-trip specialist Pic D’Orhy.

Many would see the performance as a severe dent on L’Homme Presse’s future big-race ambitions, but connections have been far from despondent and are still confident the outing will have a positive effect on his Gold Cup claims.

“The timing of the Ascot Chase was perfect for us, but the distance and the ground wasn’t perfect for us,” explained Edwards.

“At the beginning of the week they were saying we were going to get 20mm of rain and we got 2mm. It went from being soft at the beginning of the week to good ground by 3.30pm on the Saturday.

“Everything was against us but we still came second in a Grade One over a trip which was far too short for a three miler and on ground he doesn’t excel on, so we are very happy.”

While Harry Cobden was receiving plenty of plaudits for his winning ride in the aftermath of that Ascot event, it was L’Homme Presse’s jockey who was coming under fire for the amount of ground he conceded to the champion jockey elect in the early salvos of that contest.

However, the ever-loyal Edwards does not agree. He said: “It’s a shame Charlie got so much criticism as it wasn’t what we intended and he has to ride the horse that is underneath him at that moment in time.

“From our point of view Charlie gave him a great ride as he got him going and he got him running through the line and he managed to get us second in a Grade One at Ascot when at the start and halfway round things weren’t looking too healthy.”

The next stop on the L’Homme Presse odyssey is the Gold Cup itself and although there may be some nerves when Williams, Deutsch, and the staying star himself enter the bustling Prestbury Park paddock before the main event, the one thing guaranteed is that Edwards will always have the trio’s back.

“One thing I will be saying to Charlie and I always say to Venetia is, we as a group of owners believe in Venetia, we believe in Charlie and we believe in our horse,” said Edwards.

“All of us will enjoy the moment and we will definitely keep the faith.”

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