With the All-Weather Championships coming to a conclusion on Good Friday, Tony McFadden reflects on a tight tussle for Arc's Horse of The Year crown.
It seems remarkable that an event spanning five months and in which competitors accrued points across 15 races would effectively come down to a one-off shootout between the top two in the standings. But that's what happened in Arc's Horse of the Year competition as a class 4 handicap at Wolverhampton last week effectively became a title decider between Yorkshire Glory and Aisling Oscar. Rarely can a race of that level have had so much riding on it for connections as the Horse of The Year award comes with a bonus of £100,000, while those responsible for the runner-up receive £75,000.
The rivals may have been fourth and fifth choice of the market in a six-runner race, but they finished first and second, with Yorkshire Glory leading home Aisling Oscar to take the lucrative prize (replay below). That was Yorkshire Glory's eighth win of the campaign and matched the number of victories achieved by Aisling Oscar, but points achieved through more placed efforts ensured he topped the standings.
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Points were only available on a horse's first three starts in a month, so Yorkshire Glory's latest outing at Newcastle on Friday didn't count for the purposes of the standings. But he capped a sensational all-weather campaign with a ninth victory, and a sixth in a row. His latest success was achieved from a BHA mark of 71, some 25 lb higher than the mark he was beaten from at Newcastle on the opening day of the all-weather season back in October.
Yorkshire Glory did astonishingly well to beat Aisling Oscar to the Horse of The Year crown given that one landed eight consecutive handicaps over the winter, matching the modern-day record set 30 years earlier.
Aisling Oscar may have been beaten on his final five starts of the campaign, but he ran as well as ever by Timeform's reckoning when chasing home Yorkshire Glory at Wolverhampton, from a BHA mark 32 lb higher than at the start of the campaign. Second prize of £75,000, plus the prize-money earned during his winning spree, represents a fine return for a horse bought for only 3,200 guineas in September.
Francesi may not have been such a prolific winner, registering half as many as Yorkshire Glory and Aisling Oscar's eight wins in the competition, but he reached the frame on all bar two of his 15 starts. Consistency is not always helpful as it usually means little respite from the handicapper, but it's well rewarded in this event and connections will pick up £50,000 for finishing third, provided Latin doesn't win his third start of the March/April period and pip him on countback.
Latin registered his fifth win of the campaign when picking his way through to lead close home at Lingfield on Friday. That victory places him 25 points behind Francesi, a margin he can wipe out if winning his next start at either Southwell on Thursday or Lingfield on Friday.
It's worth calling out that Latin is trained by James Owen who, as things stand, is responsible for three of the top ten and five of the top 20. Goldmoyne and Profit Street, who both only joined the yard ahead of the all-weather season, are Owen's other two in the top ten. Even finishing within the top ten is well worthwhile for connections and is worth at least £30,000, while finishing in the top 20 ensures a minimum bonus of £10,000.
Special mention should also go to Beauzon who had an excellent winter and won seven times in a row. Only Yorkshire Glory and Aisling Oscar were more prolific, but only one placed effort means he failed to pick up enough points to crack the top ten.
The competition concludes on Good Friday with All-Weather Finals day at Newcastle and All-Weather Vase day at Lingfield.
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