Golden shot pays off and then some, as daring owner Gosden rewarded

Fortune favours the brave they say, and the boldest of calls by owner Ian Gosden was vindicated on the biggest stage, as his bargain-buy Golden Ace took home the spoils in a Unibet Champion Hurdle that could have been an episode of ‘Tales of the Unexpected’.

The opening-day feature was billed as a showdown between the former champion Constitution Hill and the young pretender to the two-mile title Brighterdaysahead, but the Cheltenham Festival can definitely throw up the unexpected and what unfolded in just under four minutes had to be seen to be believed.

Constitution Hill was sent off 1-2 favourite to regain his crown, but the 2023 Champion Hurdle hero relinquished his unbeaten record when his jumping exuberance finally caught up with him at the fourth-last.

That left State Man perfectly poised to defend the title he secured in Constitution Hill’s absence 12 months ago, but another saga unfolded as Willie Mullins’ eight-year-old became the latest victim of the final flight with the race at his mercy.

The scramble up the hill by those plucky enough to put their hats in the Champion Hurdle ring was on and Golden Ace came out on top, the mare that had already given Gosden, trainer Jeremy Scott and jockey Lorcan Williams one day to remember at the Festival – but was only moments away from running elsewhere.

“It’s unbelievable and a dream come true,” said Gosden. “I had to talk Lorcan into it and Jeremy was always wanting to go to the Mares’, but I wasn’t having that, we had to have a go at this.

“We had nothing to lose and she’s never been beaten over two miles and we were saying on form if we got fourth that would be decent and third would be even better – it would have been the same money as finishing second to Lossiemouth in the Mares’.

“She’s a quick mare and she’s tough and I thought we’ve got to have a go. I’ve had a fabulous day and I’m going to fly home.”

While many were lauding Gordon Elliott’s audacious Champion Hurdle bid with Brighterdaysahead – and others lamenting the non-participation of Lossiemouth – Gosden was quietly pondering his own options for Golden Ace after she roared back to form at Wincanton in the Kingwell Hurdle.

However, there was only one race on Gosden’s mind, and having ignored the advice of his trusted bloodstock adviser Wayne Clifford to take a punt on the 12,000 guineas buy at the sales, it was another bold hunch that saw him roll “double sixes” as the seven-year-old romped home at 25-1.

“It was a bit of mathematics, but we were always going to have a good day no matter where she finished,” explained Gosden.

“She’s a quick mare and she’s not going to get quicker next year, but she might get stronger so if we didn’t do it this year, when were we going to do it? I’ve never had a horse this good, so why not have a go.

“We rolled the dice and got double sixes and it’s amazing. I hope the other horses are OK, but it’s jump racing and you’ve got to be there left standing at the end. Now I’m a Champion Hurdle-winning owner.

“She’s going to be an unbelievable broodmare prospect, it’s a shame she can’t have triplets and those four or five minutes there have just changed everything.”

Another to make a late switch to be a part of a blockbuster Champion Hurdle was James Owen’s Burdett Road, sent off at 66-1 after connections toyed with Friday’s County Hurdle.

Although delighted with his dual-purpose star, a small part of Owen could not help but be left wishing Golden Ace’s owner had not got his own way on this occasion, as Wincanton form was franked with significant interest.

Owen said: “Full marks to the winner, she beat us at Wincanton, but I fully expected to turn the tables which is why we probably ran. She wasn’t going to run until 20 seconds before and I wish they’d decided to go elsewhere!

“It was amazing and a couple of big horses fell and hopefully they are all right, but he settled nicely and even though he was put off at the second by one of the outsiders and jumped right and got a bit behind, he’s stayed on nicely.

“We were lucky on evidence maybe to finish second, but he’s a five year old with a big future and we’re absolutely thrilled.”

Sadly, not all the daring declarations from the class of 2025 paid off, with dreams of one day matching the exploits of Dawn Run brutally crushed for the connections of Brighterdaysahead.

Left bitterly disappointed, a philosophical Ryanair supremo Michael O’Leary wondered if Prestbury Park is simply not his star mare’s ideal choice of destination.

“She just didn’t run well and maybe she doesn’t like the track – she didn’t run well here last year and she hasn’t run well this year,” said O’Leary.

“It’s no fault of Gordon (Elliott) or Jack (Kennedy) and maybe she just doesn’t like Cheltenham, at one stage she couldn’t even lie up with King Of Kingsfield.

“It was a strange race, but even if she had not been hampered she wasn’t going to finish in the first three. It’s disappointing, but we live to fight another day.”