'A great relief and immensely satisfying' - Hector Crouch celebrates Group 1 breakthrough in Irish Oaks with Sunday barbecue

Hector Crouch will be celebrating his Group 1 breakthrough with a Sunday barbecue that has swelled with well-wishers after the rider partnered You Got To Me to victory in the Irish Oaks on Saturday.

Crouch, 27, called the success “a great relief and also immensely satisfying” and is already looking forward to the prospect of more big days with You Got To Me.

“It’s been a massive ambition of mine in recent years,” he said. “I’ve watched a lot of my close friends and colleagues go on to success at that level and wanted to join the club, so to speak. So it’s a great relief but also immensely satisfying. 

“We’re going to have a celebration this afternoon. We were going to have a low-key barbecue anyway, but the numbers have swelled a lot since yesterday I can tell you.”

You Got To Me and Hector Crouch winning the Irish OaksCredit: Patrick McCann

You Got To Me was adding to her success in the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial in May when triumphing at the Curragh, and Crouch said it was special to win his first Group 1 on her.

He said: “She’s a filly who means a lot to me and always has. I’ve always held her in high regard and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season. She’s in every big race bar the St Leger and it’ll be interesting to see where she goes. 

“The whole process with the filly has been incredibly rewarding, so that means as much as anything. Even if she wasn’t a Group 1 filly, which is amazing in itself, the hard work that’s gone in at home from everyone to get her to settle means that regardless of the quality of race it's hugely rewarding. The fact it all came together in a Group 1 was brilliant.”

You Got To Me’s success in the colours of Graham Smith-Bernal’s Newsells Park Stud and Valmont, the ownership vehicle of Anthony Ramsden, further cemented Crouch’s fruitful association with Ralph Beckett.

Crouch has also claimed Royal Ascot, Group 3 and Group 2 wins for Beckett in the last two years, and said: “Ralph has been a big supporter of mine for the last three or four seasons and it makes my life a lot easier getting the chance to ride these better-quality horses. 

"I know I’m very fortunate to be down there as part of the team with Rossa [Ryan] and Rob [Hornby].”

Read these next:

'I'm not sure any of us expected her to win like that' - You Got To Me gives Ralph Beckett second Irish Classic 

The start was as important as the finish - how the Irish Oaks unfolded and was won by You Got To Me 

'You've always got to have a plan B' - Hector Crouch excels in Irish Oaks success on You Got To Me 

'It's a really happy day for Newsells' - nobody gets to Nathaniel filly in Irish Oaks thriller 

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