'I've harboured this ambition for a very long time' - Chianti Classico owner hoping for dream Cheltenham Festival win in Ultima

Chianti Classico: 8-1 chance in the Ultima Handicap ChaseCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Richard Pilkington is hoping to fulfil a lifetime ambition of owning a Cheltenham Festival winner when big British handicap hope Chianti Classico lines up for the Ultima Handicap Chase on Tuesday.

Pilkington, a former chairman at Nottingham, is a director of Jockey Club Estates and owns the progressive seven-year-old with his childhood friend and Ascot chairman Sir Francis Brooke.

Fifth-placed finishes have been the theme of Pilkington’s Cheltenham Festival runners, with Bantam finishing fifth in the first running of the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in 2016 and Honest Vic filling the same spot in the Coral Cup in 2020 and the Pertemps Final two years ago.

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Jack HaynesReporter

Published on 9 March 2024inCheltenham Festival

Last updated 17:51, 9 March 2024

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