Ben Linfoot dishes out his trophies as the 2021-22 National Hunt season draws to a close, with A Plus Tard, Galopin Des Champs, Jack Kennedy and Micky Hammond amongst the winners.
🏆 Jockey of the Season – BRIAN HUGHES
A demolition job of a jockeys’ title for Brian Hughes, over 200 winners, 99 clear of his nearest pursuer Sam Twiston-Davies, this was an AP McCoy-esque season from a fellow Northern Irishman who has bulldozed his way to be champion after dominating the northern circuit.
He had 32 winners at Sedgefield at 33%. At Perth it was 19 at 28%. Carlisle 16 at 28%. Musselburgh 13 at 24%. Kelso 13 at 19%. The go-to man in the north rode 103 winners for the resurgent Donald McCain and when the 200 came into sight there was only one ambition on his mind.
Hughes has chosen quantity over quality. At Cheltenham this season he was 0/9. But the 36-year-old deserves more goes in the Grade 1s due to his commitment, work ethic and above all, style. But for now a second Champion Jockey trophy will do just nicely.
🏆 Trainer of the Season – WILLIE MULLINS
It can only be Willie Mullins. His combined number of winners in GB and Ireland for the campaign stands at 203 from 769 runners, a strike-rate of 26%, his form not dipping throughout a relentless campaign.
Along came 26 Grade 1s. There were four over a fruitful Christmas period, five at the Dublin Racing Festival and six at the Cheltenham Festival – a meeting where he had a stunning 10 winners overall.
There was fleeting chatter about him going for the UK trainers’ title, something that didn’t materialise which was music to the ears of Paul Nicholls, but he will win the Irish champion trainer trophy for a 15th successive season, the challenge from Gordon Elliott not as potent as in previous years.
🏆 Horse of the Season – A PLUS TARD
Henry De Bromhead has done a fantastic job with A Plus Tard, refreshing him after a bruising Cheltenham Gold Cup second last season as he came back to go one better in sensational style under an ice-cool Rachael Blackmore.
When you freeze frame the Gold Cup leaders two from home it’s hard to imagine one bounding clear by 15 lengths, but that’s just what the eight-year-old did as he underlined his status as the best staying chaser around.
He’d previously put forward his claims for such an accolade when he stormed to a 22-length win in the Betfair Chase at Haydock back in November, as long gone was De Bromhead’s routine of starting him out in shallower waters over much shorter trips.
A stayer with gears, a Timeform rating of 178, and a touch of the Kauto Star about him, he goes into the next campaign as the one to beat in the Gold Cup division, although his next test will be seeing off the new blood, talking of which…
🏆 Rising Star of the Season – GALOPIN DES CHAMPS
He hasn’t run further than 2m5f over fences, but Galopin Des Champs has amassed a large congregation of admirers following a stunning novice chase season and his popularity and potential means he’s the 7/2 favourite for the 2023 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
It’s easy to see why. After a spectacular chasing debut at Leopardstown over Christmas – where he jumped brilliantly in a performance Timeform rated in the top seven for fencing debutants this century – he went into the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival as the 4/9 favourite.
He justified those odds in style, but he couldn’t convert a price of 5/6 favourite in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival after falling at the last when 12 lengths clear in what was the most dramatic moment of the whole campaign.
That didn’t leave a mark on him, though, as he bounced back in style at Fairyhouse just last week, winning the Grade 1 Boylesports Gold Cup Novice Chase as he liked by 18 lengths, reminding everyone just how much of an exciting prospect he is for the years ahead.
🏆 Biggest-Priced Winner(s) of the Season – ALCHEMYSTIQUE & AN FORGHAS 125/1
Steph Hollinshead only has a couple of jumpers in her care but she struck first time up with Alchemystique, a 5,000gns purchase out of Joe Tuite’s yard at the July sales.
Rated 62 on the Flat after one win from seven races, she had started life in junior bumpers and belied odds of 125/1 to win on her hurdling debut at Southwell on November 30.
In Ireland James Conheady’s An Forghas won at the same SP on his second go in a bumper at Limerick on December 27, his success having to be seen to be believed.
He went 30 lengths clear at halfway, traded at 1000 on Betfair in-running when the pack caught him six furlongs from home, only for him to pick up again as he went clear by three and three quarter lengths.
“He has been improving at home so we were quietly confident,” Conheady, the winning trainer/jockey, said afterwards.
A simply incredible finish at @LimerickRaces
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 27, 2021
125/1 chance An Forghas was a mile clear at one stage, before coming right back to the field & trading at 999/1 in running
However, James Conheady knew how much petrol was left in the tank - some ride đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/1SrofaUDAb
🏆 When The Money Is Down Jockey of the Season – JACK KENNEDY
When it comes to booting home odds-on shots there have been none with a deadlier strike-rate than Jack Kennedy in the when the money is down department.
Taking into account those jockeys that rode more than six evens-or-shorter-winners in the campaign only, Kennedy leads the way with 12 wins from 14 goes at 86%, including 11 in a row since the season proper started in October.
🏆 When The Money Is Down Trainer of the Season – RICHARD BANDEY
Willie Mullins has trained 103 evens-or-shorter winners from 164 goes this season at 63%, not a bad conversion rate from his most fancied of runners, but we can’t give everything to the master of Closutton.
Instead we’ll celebrate the Tadley operation of Richard Bandey, a man who has rarely missed with a fancied one, training seven evens-or-shorter winners from eight goes thanks to Give Me A Monet, Pass Me By, Saint Palais, Delta Run and Godrevy Point.
🏆 Longshot Trainer of the Season – MICKY HAMMOND
Micky Hammond sent out 132 horses that were sent off at 25/1 or greater during the jumps season and won with five of them, a win strike-rate of just 3.8%.
However, the five winners had SPs of 25/1, 40/1, 40/1, 66/1 and 80/1, ensuring a P&L of +ÂŁ124 to ÂŁ1 level stakes at SP, boosted to +ÂŁ287.24 at Betfair SP.
🏆 Longshot Jockey of the Season – ALAIN CAWLEY
Unsurprisingly Micky Hammond’s jockey Alain Cawley picks up the longshot jockey gong, as he was on three of those aforementioned big-price winners; Knocknamona (25/1), Geryville (40/1) and Royle Steel (80/1).
He also won on Time Leader (28/1) for Tim Reed and Cawthorne Lad (25/1) for Jonjo O’Neill, taking his record on horses that went off 25/1 or over to five wins from 92 at 5.4%, a P&L of +£111 to SP and +£207.99 at Befair SP.
🏆 National Hunt Stallion of the Season – FAME AND GLORY
When it comes to pure number of winners Fame And Glory beats them all with 180 from 1337 representatives at a strike-rate of 13.4%.
When it comes to quality he did have a couple of Cheltenham Festival winners in Commander Of Fleet and The Nice Guy, but it’s hard to beat Kapgarde’s multiple Grade1-winning top three of A Plus Tard, Clan Des Obeaux and Fakir D’oudairies in the ability stakes.
🏆 Race of the Season – SBK CLARENCE HOUSE CHASE
It can only be the mid-season Ascot highlight that was the 2022 renewal of the Grade 1 SBK Clarence House Chase, as Shishkin wore down Energumene in a thriller.
Calls for the race to be returned to a handicap were muted temporarily as the January contest attracted two seriously high-class operators in the big two, one hailing from Willie Mullins' all-conquering Closutton yard in Ireland, the other representing Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows stable in England.
Everything pointed towards the race being a classic and racing fans were not disappointed, with Henderson’s Shishkin pulling the race out of the fire in the straight after Energumene, who had the last laugh in the Champion Chase, had traded as short as 1.13 in the run.
🏆 Headscratcher of the Season – TORNADO FLYER IN THE KING GEORGE
When you watch Tornado Flyer’s performance in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, an error-ridden display that saw him pulled up two from home, his King George VI Chase win seems all the more remarkable.
Throw in the fact his Kempton success was his only victory in his last 11 starts, one that came in a particularly deep renewal against multiple Grade 1 winners, and it seems barely believable that he could get his head in front at odds of 28/1.
It just goes to show what can happen in the sport when the stars align. A shuddering mistake at the first forced Danny Mullins to drop him in the rear and then a very strong pace played into his hands as Frodon and Minella Times cut each other’s throats on the front end.
Unpredictability, part of the beauty of the game. Here's to more of the same next season.
