Aussie trainer targets major jumps festival
Brad Waters
Monday, 30 November 2009
Ballarat trainer Anthony Cosgriff is on the verge of making history when he becomes the first Australian trainer to have a runner at the prestigious Cheltenham festival in England.
Cosgriff knows the English racing scene intimately, having worked as an assistant to top UK trainer Mark Johnston for four years and believes the seven-year-old gelding Gorge is the perfect sort of horse for an English jumps campaign.
Gorge made giant strides during the 2009 jumps season, progressing from a Warrnambool maiden hurdle win to a fast-finishing fourth in the Grand National Hurdle in August.
“He’s actually a bit short-changed by the jumps racing here,” Cosgriff said. “He needs three miles and some higher jumps to get over because he’s a neat and tidy jumper and the races are too short here.”
Cosgriff decided it was worth floating the idea of going to England with Gorge’s owners who approved the plan with conditions attached.
“They agreed it was a good idea but they said I would need to find some sort of sponsorship for the flights to England and back,” Cosgriff said.
“I gave the Cheltenham people a call to try and get some leads on who to approach but they were really excited about us coming over because they have never had an Australian trainer take a horse over there.”
Cosgriff said the Cheltenham Festival organisers in conjunction with the Aintree club have provided part sponsorship with British betting giant Totesport covering the rest of the transport costs.
“The Cheltenham people and the Aintree people really wanted us over there,” Cosgriff said. “They have helped us enormously and Totesport have been great so it’s all systems go.”
Gorge will make his English debut in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle over 4800 metres at Cheltenham on March 19 with the gelding to travel to England in late January.
Racenet
