Rick Holloway landed his second Springbok as a trainer, following two as an owner, when landing the Cearnsport Springbok with Lenson Wilson at Central Park on Friday.
The 4-9f retained his flawless jumps record with a nine length victory over kennelmate Aayamzacraftyone in 29.63 (N) for the 480m hurdle course. It represented a five-timer with an aggregate winning distance of 42 distance for the dog Rick describes as “probably the most consistent dog I have ever put over hurdles, a complete natural.”
The Stanford-Le-Hope based handler who won his first two Springboks as an owner (Rossa Ranger, Kaysers Hill) before taking his first as a trainer with Westmead Meteor, is planning a nine-strong raid on the Grand National next month.
He said: “I have a couple of new ones coming through, most notably Roxholme Leonard who trialled very well at Crayford last week. It is so hard to get races for these dogs though, particularly those who aren’t open class. I thought we had a breakthrough at Walthamstow when Chris Page allowed non-contracted trainers to run dogs in graded hurdle race there. Unfortunately, it never caught on.
“I have been in touch with Crayford but heard nothing back so far. It could surely only help their graded strength to have a few more hurdlers available. If not there, well I am open to suggestions. As a sport I don’t think we can afford to lose hurdle racing but we are in danger of doing so.”
Central Park promoter Roger Cearns (right) invited his VIP guests, major players in the world of fashion, to present the Springbok trophy to Rick Holloway after Lenson Wilson’s win on Friday night. From left, Hilary Riva OBE (former MD of well known fashion houses including Topshop, and a Chief Exec of the British Fashion Council), designer Sue Timney and artist Monica Lowe.
Central Park, Friday 9th March 2018.
Photo: © Steve Nash
