Nathan Hunt enjoyed his first Category Two success as a trainer when Go Pat Go lifted the £4,000 BGBF Maiden Final at Romford on Friday.
It was doubly satisfying since he and Luke Staunton had bred the winner from their hugely successful litter by Leamaneigh Turbo out of Bang On Pippa. Seven of the eight littermates have won in open company. The exception is Donttellthewife, though she does compete in S1/E1 at Romford.
Nathan said: “When you wrote a feature on the litter last year I said I thought that Go Pat Go was the best of the bitches. She damaged a wrist in the Produce Stakes but thankfully she is now showing how good she is. Dave Hawes bought her at three months old; he has always claimed to be a lucky owner. ”
It is six weeks since Nathan took over from Guvnor Phil Simmonds and by far the biggest shock has been the admin.
He said: “I knew there would be some, but there is a lot more than I imagined. Although I had quite a few dealings with owners before, now obviously it is all down to me. We are getting around 40 runners a week and I am enjoying the extra responsibility. Thankfully Phil is still around and helps out every morning.”
The Cambridgeshire range has space for 75 racers and is almost at capacity and there are more young legs in the paddocks.
Nathan said: “Wuheida had four of each about six weeks ago. Most of them are spoken for though I will probably have a couple for sale. I have also leased Forest Apple who has been mated to Castell Henry and she is due to whelp in April.”
As for Bang On Pippa?
“She lives with Phil in the house” said Nathan, “bit it would be nice to have one more litter out of her.”
BGBF’s Liz Mort (second from right) presents the £4000 British Bred Maidens trophy to owners Dave Dawes and Andy Duffy (blue top) after Go Pat Go’s victory for trainer Nathan Hunt (holding winner) Photo: © Steve Nash
