Al Dancer© Photo Healy Racing
Callum Pritchard had a day to remember when partnering Al Dancer to a remarkable triumph in the 63rd Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton.
The 7lb claimer set off at a scorching pace on the Sam Thomas-trained 25-1 shot and soon had the rest of the field well strung out.
While the chasing pack made notable mistakes, Al Dancer jumped superbly and kept up his relentless gallop, ultimately pulling clear again up the home straight to beat 11-4 favourite Lord Accord by 10 lengths.
The 11-year-old was obliging on his seasonal reappearance for the sixth time and took his overall win tally into double figures.
Pritchard said: “To ride that fellow in a big race like that is unreal. That is the best moment of my life. It means a lot.
“I feel sorry for Dylan Johnston, who usually rides all of Sam’s, but he couldn’t ride him today due to other circumstances (a ban).
“It is a big shout out to him, as he does all the hard work at home, so it is nice he gets a mention.
“It was all happening too easy, but he is electric. He was always nicely in his stride and he never felt like he was flat to the boards and he never felt like I was going too slow.
“He jumped and got into a lovely rhythm, and it all fell into place. I couldn’t believe how far we went on at the end, as I was waiting for them to come and swallow me up.
“I only rode my first winner as a conditional about 10 days ago, then one on Wednesday for Rebecca Curtis, so hopefully it will take off now.”
Pritchard, who is based with Ben Pauling, enjoyed plenty of success in the point-to-point field but explained how he rather fell into racing.
He added: “I had nothing to do with horses as a kid but I was with the hunt service for a few years.
“My girlfriend Hannah had a pointer with nobody to ride it – and me, being me, got my licence. I thought I would give it a crack and the love grew from then.
“I was absolutely not a natural from the start. I could stay on, but I had a lot of learning to do.
“The same with point-to-pointing, I had a lot of good opportunities from people and things just fell into place and it took off from there – and hopefully with this big winner, I can do the same thing under rules.”
Thomas admitted he was “a bit overwhelmed” after watching his popular veteran blaze a winning trail.
The trainer said: “He is a hero. He had a really bad cut on his off hind at Sandown (on his final run last season). He must have done it early on in the race, as he was never quite at the races after that. He took a long time to get that heeled, hence why he is running now and not a bit sooner in the season.
“What can you say. I’m a bit overwhelmed with him to be honest. He won the Grand Sefton two seasons ago. He is just a mega horse and every trainer needs youngsters coming through, but you need these older boys to keep flying the flag.
“That is the sixth season he has won first time out and that speaks volumes. You are a passenger on this horse and it sounds silly, but the more the horse feels in charge, the better performance you are going to get. What can I say, he is a legend of a horse.
“All credit to the team at home, and well done to Mr (Dai) Walters for allowing me to have these lovely horses.
“It was only after the last that I thought we had won. I was tempted to jump over the rail with a circuit to go to tell him to take a pull. When he is well, and he is happy and fresh, that is what he is capable of.”
