THE Minella prefix of the Nallen family was carried to victory earlier this year by Minella Indo in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and Minella Times in the Grand National at Aintree.
At the latter venue last Saturday evening, the Katie Dashwood-ridden Minella Rebellion was crowned Tattersalls supreme champion at the Retrained Racehorses’ National Championships.
The four-day show (August 26th to 29th) at the Aintree International Equestrian Centre is run by the Retraining of Racehorses organisation and this year, with a new title sponsor in The Jockey Club, 276 former racehorses were entered by connections for showing (ridden and in-hand), dressage, combined training and show jumping classes.
Combined they had won over £5.3 million in prize money and had competed in 3,981 races, either under Rules or in point-to-points.
In common with Minella Indo and Minella Times, the 2012 King’s Theatre gelding when trained by Denis Murphy.
Later that month, the Sunnyhill Stud-bred bay was consigned to the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale where he was knocked down for £90,000 to Highflyer Bloodstock.
Most disappointingly, Minella Rebellion, a full-brother of Balthazar King, earned only £1,145 when third once in five outings over hurdles for the Nicky Henderson yard between November 2016 and the following September when the plug was pulled on his racing career.
Last year, on the recommendation of former Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight, who was recently in Ireland judging Irish Draught horses and Connemara ponies, Minella Rebellion was acquired by his present rider, Katie Dashwood.
En route to winning the overall title in Saturday evening’s gala performance, Minella Rebellion was crowned the novice show horse series champion (which Dashwood had won before on the Beneficial gelding Barlow).
Standing reserve supreme was the Kirsty Douglas-ridden Rich Man Poor Man, an eight-year-old Robin Des Champs gelding who also ran five times over hurdles for Phil Kirby the last in mid-March 2017. This Gary Kerr-bred half-brother to Magnanimity (by Winged Love) was Tattersalls RoR Scottish champion in July and qualified for the supreme as the RoR Tattersalls special champion.
Special champion
Hannah Chisman was beckoned into third place with the RoR amateur special champion, First Fandango. Bred in Britain by Aylesfield Farms Stud, this 14-year-old Hernando gelding was first trained by John Hills, for whom he won once on the flat at three, and then by Tim Vaughan who saddled the bay to win twice over hurdles and twice over fences with his ran in May 2017.
Others who qualified for the supreme championship were the Jessica Westwood-ridden Monkerty Tunkerty, an 18-year-old British-bred Silver Patriarch gelding who had earlier been crowed RoR retrained racehorse challenge series champion; the Abi Sole-partnered Hero Worship, a Duncan McGregor-bred 18-year-old Kalanisi gelding who qualified as winner of the RoR ridden veteran series championship; and the 2019 supreme champion Mumford, a nine-year-old British-bred Stimulation gelding who was ridden by Collette McGoldrick.
Speaking afterwards of Minella Rebellion, Katie Dashwood said: “I can’t believe it, I simply cannot believe it. He is a true showman, he loves it. I didn’t think we had a chance in the final and because I was so thrilled to have won the novice class I just went in and really enjoyed it. Our thanks to The Jockey Club and RoR – what a night!”
Dressage
The Elite performance award for dressage was won by the Patricia Haskins-partnered Crewezando, a British-bred 15-year-old Forzando gelding who finished second once in six starts as a two-year-old for David Evans. He competes at Advanced level under British Dressage rules.
Although there were only four starters in Thursday’s Elementary dressage competition there was a dead-heat between two mares.
These were the Katharine Jones-ridden Redbackcappuchino, a Tally-Ho Stud-bred Redback 16-year-old who was third twice in four runs on the flat for John Spearing in 2007, and the Natalie Pettitt-partnered Riffelalp, a Cherry Park Stud-bred Bachelor Duke 14-year-old who was unplaced in five runs on the flat in 2009 for Eve Johnson Houghton.
Both mares, who also compete regularly with British Dressage, achieved a percentage score of 75.34 and couldn’t be split on their collective mark of 62.