Kap Vert continued the trend of novices winning the Scottish Grand National as the six-year-old landed the Ayr feature on Saturday.
The Kapgarde gelding travelled effortlessly under Sean Houlihan, only coming off the bridle prior to the last. The step up in trip was the big unknown, having been beaten twice over three miles this season. His two successes came at Taunton over 2m7f on good ground, with the four miles on soft ground at Ayr proving a whole different test. Regardless, he looked a natural in the conditions, and connections can now dream of further staying glory.
Phil Ghazala, part of the If The Kap Fits syndicate, told the Racing Post: “This means more than I could ever imagine. I said to Philip Hobbs when we got involved with this horse that if he won round Newton Abbot or Taunton, I’d be very happy. This is a different level and it’s a dream. We came here thinking: ’What are we doing?’, because of the ground and the trip. But Sean gave him a really cool ride, he just sat and waited and waited.”
“He’s very genuine” – Sean Houlihan
That patience was personified by Sean Houlihan, who was second in the Scottish Champion Hurdle earlier in the card. While it looked smooth to the untrained eye, Sean told Racing TV, it wasn’t all plain sailing: “Early on I got shuffled back and I wasn’t happy on the ground. But as soon as I moved him out passing the winning line first time he came alive.
“He got into a lovely rhythm, he travelled and he jumped. There was a slight scare four out when Sam Twiston-Davies jumped across me. But from there on in it was just keeping your cool, counting to ten. I saw the furlong pole and thought: ‘Right, you can give me all for a furlong’, and he did. He’s very genuine.”
Johnson White, one half of the training partnership, was thrilled with the success and discussed his future going forward. White told Racing TV: “A lot of unknowns about Kap Vert today. The distance, the ground, going left-handed. He’s ticked all the boxes with admirable credit and it’s opened up a lot of nice options for next season.
“He’ll have a nice summer off now and then we’ve got lots of dreaming to do. It’s been a phenomenal journey so far and I don’t think it’s over yet.” White and Houlihan The Aintree Grand National has lingered in their plans, suggesting: “He’d probably have to improve but there’s no reason why we can’t aim. I do think we might see a better horse on better ground.”