Helen Tredwell and Opportunity B raised the roof at Hartpury after taking the £5,000 prize in the gold tour grand prix.
Helen and her incredible little mare jumped the faster of only two treble clears to defeat a top-class field. Jo Pay and Randi’s Gold franked the supremacy of the lady riders with second place and a £3,500 payday.
“I can’t explain what ‘Oppy’ means to me. She is my horse of a lifetime and I wouldn’t swap her for anything,” said an emotional Helen afterwards.
After another tense 10-horse jump-off, Billy Twomey and his long-term favourite, Anastasia III, took the honours in the silver tour final.
The Cheshire-based Irishman and the 13-year-old German-bred mare used all their experience to reduce the time set by Tim Gredley on Timo by 1.5sec.
“She’s such a fantastic mare,” said Billy of the versatile chestnut who has won every type of class from speed to Super League Nations Cups.
Alec Trickett went into the record books as the show’s first champion. The PennyStaffordshire-based rider partnered Barrie Nuttall’s mare Just Teasing to a stirring victory in the bronze tour final, reducing the standard set by Joe Davison on his father Richard’s lovely Irish-bred Kildalton Holly by a cool 2sec.
Alec has produced Just Teasing since the mare was three, but has had a quiet season after she was injured in February.
“It’s lovely to come back with a good win at such a lovely venue,” he said.
Charlotte Platt’s show had already been good, but it got even better when she rode Sunflower P to victory in the morning’s accumulator. The pair jumped the faster of only two maximum scores to hold off Lynne Bevan and Top Gun IV by a large margin.
Results
Biotal Equine Gold Accumulator with Joker
1. Sunflower P (Charlotte Platt)
2. Top Gun IV (Lynne Bevan)
3. Akosie Du Wonderland (Ben Maher)
Motorail Logistics Bronze Tour Grand Prix
1. Just Teasing (Alec Trickett)
2. Kildalton Holly (Joe Davison)
3. Loughnatousa Raven (John Crippen)
Saracen Horse Feeds Silver Tour Grand Prix
1. Anastasia III (Billy Twomey)
2. Timo (Tim Gredley)
3. Goldex (Billy Twomey)
Hartpury Home Farm Stud Gold Tour Victor Ludorum
1. Opportunity B (Helen Tredwell)
2. Randi’s Gold (Jo Pay)
3. Rolette (Ben Maher)
