The Listener was Jacob’s first Christmas cracker

Everybody loves a grey, so we are told. That is certainly true of Daryl Jacob, whose career will forever be remembered alongside that of multiple Grade One winner Bristol De Mai.

However, it was another grey who really got Jacob’s career going back in Christmas 2006.

The Listener, trained by the late Robert Alner, Jacob’s first boss, had won two Grade Twos as a novice chaser under Andrew Thornton but a defeat on his seasonal reappearance behind Star De Mohaison at Sandown prompted a change in the saddle by his owner, Lieutenant R W Humphreys.

Jacob, who rode the point-to-pointers trained by Alner’s wife, Sally, still claimed 3lb at the time but having won the Grand Sefton over the Grand National fences a month earlier on Bob Buckler’s I Hear Thunder, was entrusted with the ride.

The decision to head to what was then the Lexus Chase (now run as the Savills) was a bold one. Beef Or Salmon was bidding for a fourth win in five years, only punctuated by triple Gold Cup winner Best Mate in 2003.

It seems strange to say now, but around that time, the best staying chasers tended to be based in the UK – but with Kauto Star, Exotic Dancer, Monkerhostin and Monet’s Garden all targeting the King George, The Listener’s need for soft ground saw Alner look further afield.

He became the trainer’s first runner at Leopardstown and with Jacob never pestered for the lead, he cruised to an eight-length win over Beef Or Salmon, with then Gold Cup holder War Of Attrition, who needed good ground to be seen at his best, back in third.

“It was brilliant but a lot of the credit has to go to Robert Alner for putting me on the horse, as I was only a claimer at the time,” said Jacob.

“He put the trust in me to ride a good horse like that, in a Grade One, in Ireland. Especially with me being from Ireland – it was a serious moment in my career.

“As a young jockey, you are always looking out for a good horse to take you to the big stage and thankfully he gave me that big day very early on.

“It was very special as a lot of my friends and family, aunties and uncles, they were all there as well to watch, so it was a brilliant day.”

Having looked set to take high rank the season before among the novices, The Listener’s opening campaign over fences rather petered out with two falls, so having not quite been tested against the best, he was probably allowed a little too much rope.

Recalling the race, Jacob said: “We were taking on Beef Or Salmon, who had won it three times, and War Of Attrition had won the Gold Cup the season before.

“We knew what we were taking on, but The Listener was very, very good. A bit like Bristol De Mai, heavy ground felt like good ground to him – a bit like Beef Or Salmon, I suppose.

“They probably didn’t think The Listener was good enough to beat Beef Or Salmon that day but I remember I just got an easy lead the whole way, I was very much in my comfort zone the whole way.

“I gave him a squeeze going down to the last and he powered away to win easy.

“Horses like that are very unique, they don’t come around very often, the ones who have such power they find it easy going through heavy ground. When you are on one like that, you feel like it is good ground, they get horses off the bridle early and they can’t go with them.

“He was a beautiful jumper and we just gelled, we had a great relationship. He was a horse that I was very grateful came along at that stage of my career.”

Having fallen in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase of 2006, The Listener finished 11th in the Gold Cup the following year before a fifth to Our Vic in the Ryanair the year after, proving Cheltenham was never his track.

But he certainly loved Ireland, winning the 2007 John Durkan, the 2008 Irish Gold Cup and the 2009 JNWine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal, as well as several other placed efforts.

“The undulations of Cheltenham never really suited him,” said Jacob. “He was at his best on flat, left-handed tracks. He wasn’t as good going right-handed.

“Leopardstown, Punchestown and Haydock would have suited him but he never went for the Betfair Chase, we went for the James Nicholson at Down Royal instead for a couple of years.

“He was a very popular horse, not just in the UK but in Ireland as well. At that time, not many from the UK were going over to Ireland, but he had a spell where he ran more over there than at home and because of that, he had a big following.

“Full credit to Robert and Sally, it’s no secret how much I respect them, I owe my career to them, every decision I’ve made through my career, even joining Simon (Munir) and Isaac (Souede), has been with the boss and Sally, my whole career has been mapped out by them.

“To have them on my side throughout, to be trusted to ride a horse like him, was just a huge vote of confidence and I’m very lucky and very grateful that I delivered for them.”