SERIAL OK Grand Challenge winner and renowned horse trainer Bridget Stidolph is looking forward to reciprocating her success at the country's iconic 1 800m dash on Saturday.
She won the race a record four uninterrupted times between 2016 and 2019 with Simona winning the event back to back in 2018 and 2019. The other horses under Stidolph's tutelage to have won the OK Grand Challenge are Duffy's Call and Royal Honour.
Speaking at the OK Grand Challenge final acceptances ceremony at Borrowdale Race Course on Friday where 15 runners were confirmed for Saturday's race, Stidolph thanked the sponsors for keeping the race alive.
“Obviously just a very, very big thank you to OK. You know, they've been my sponsors of this race, and for them to come back once again, just obviously a very, very big thank you,” Stidolph said.
“You know, it’s one of the most prestigious races to be won, and we all try our hardest to be able to do this. You know, I have been incredibly lucky to have won this race a couple of years ago.”
Stidolph went down memory lane showering praises on two-time winner Simona and some of the horses to have graced her stable.
“I think I won it about five years ago. And the one that we can't forget is my friend Simona. We won it back-to-back. She was an incredibly special lady. So yeah, obviously we will be going again and trying to do it,” she said.
“But without the sponsors, without OK, without Mashonaland Turf Club, without all our owners, and without our co-trainers and jockeys, we wouldn't be here today.”
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Stidolph was on top of the world last month at the Castle Tankard with her trainee horse Raffles winning the race. The four-year-old gelding is back again for the OK Grand Challenge this time around.
“So, obviously a very, very big thank you to all of them. Well done to you. Obviously I've got Raffles. You know, he's a lovely little horse. He won the Castle Tankard. He is coming into this race carrying a lot more weight,” she said.
“But saying that, he's got a very good draw. He's doing the same as he was in the Tankard. He's got a very good jockey. And do you know what?
“Under Lisa, we've won this race carrying top weight before, so I'm not too worried about that. Then I've got Citrusdal and Wantage. Wantage ran an absolute cracker in the Tankard to run very fast, very, very good through. He's a dark horse still, I think. He's got a really nice weight. Nathan Klink is on him."
She is confident Wantage will give the other horse a run for their money.
“Nathan knows him very well. And Citrusdale, he’s got Jarreyd Penny on him. Dark horse race with Jarreyd,” she added.
“So I wouldn't count him out. And then I've got a little tradition. Anthony Andrews is coming up to ride him."
Stidolph has placed the underdog tag on her fourth horse in this race Tradition.
“Tradition, he’s the underdog. We've always said, let's go further with him. He tries his absolute hardest, this horse. He's so bad," she said.
"He's not quite this class. But you know what? You've got to be in it to win it. And he's going to be out there trying his hardest."
Her pick among the four horses is Wantage which she tips to win the OK Grand Challenge.
"Look, it's a tough one. Wantage is one of my little favourites. He's been with me since day dot from a two-year-old. He's been an absolute champion. I think he's going to be up there. Obviously, round horse, that horse holds an incredibly special place in my heart. He's come up from the owners have brought the horse up," added Stidolph.
"He's an absolute sweetheart. I love him to bits. So I think he's, yeah. You know what? Look, it's a tough one to call. It's a very, very, very hard race. There's some very good horses in here. So yeah, basically, first horse passed first is going to be a winner."
Debra Swanson, another experienced trainer is fielding four horses and by numerical advantage she will also be looking forward to upstage all her competitors. She will have Jet Mirage, Ideal View, Abayyaan, Jaeger Moon, Var Aglow, Majestic Warrior, Buster Barnes and with Admirals Chance as her eighth horse certainly has every reason to believe that this will be her chance.
Thomas Mason has Action Zone, Amy Parham is in holy land with Holy Land while Gavin McLeod will expect it to rain dollars with Raining Again.
