Winless on the track but now a champion - Minella Rebellion lands RoR prize

Old favourites Don Poli, Yorkhill and Kimberella lost out as the former Nicky Henderson-trained Minella Rebellion was crowned Supreme Champion at the Jockey Club Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) National Championships.

Aintree racecourse hosted the four-day event from August 26-29 in which 276 equine participants were on show in various fields from dressage to showjumping.

Saturday’s feature events included the Elite Performance Award for Showing, which was won by Minella Rebellion, who had five runs over hurdles for Henderson without success.

Minella Rebellion, a nine-year-old brother to Cheltenham Festival winner Balthazar King, was ridden by Katie Dashwood, who acquired him last year during lockdown following a recommendation from Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight.

Nicky Henderson: trained Minella RebellionCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Elite Performance Award for Dressage was won by Crewezando, a 15-year-old who was a six-race maiden when trained by David Evans. He won just £694 in prize-money on the track but his success here typified the ethos of the event, as RoR chief executive Di Arbuthnot explained.

“This show is more about the horses you have never heard of," she said. "The horses with the sort of profile that those opposed to the sport might wrongfully presume have no future after racing and are not valued. Actually, thanks to RoR creating a market and generating demand, the reverse is true.”

Big prize-money winners were showcased in the ‘Always A Star’ parade and one of them was American, a Listed winner over fences who was ridden by Lance Corporal Emma-Jane Powne, an Army reservist sporting her military uniform.

Powne used to ride the 11-year-old when he was trained by Harry Fry and ran in the colours of the Jago Family Partnership, and she said: “His owners gave him to me, which was absolutely phenomenal. We keep in touch with them and they’re always thrilled to hear of his results.

“It’s so good to be able to showcase these horses in a different career. I’ve ridden him since he was a five-year-old and it’s so nice that they have a life after racing. He loves it.”

In the 15 years since RoR started staging classes and series exclusively for former racehorses, the annual participation in its showing, eventing and dressage events has risen from 270 horses to 10,527, and some of the equine participants may take part in multiple disciplines.

To provide a comparison, in 2019 more thoroughbreds took part in RoR dressage competitions (4,148) than ran in chases (2,965).

Using 2019 figures, 63 per cent of horses on the RoR database were registered for dressage, 53 per cent for showing, 44 per cent for eventing and 35 per cent for other disciplines such as polo, horseball and endurance. Around a third of registered horses go into retirement.

Read more on this subject:

Care for a racehorse throughout their life has never been a higher priority

'There are so many things that ex-racehorses can do'

Giving sanctuary to the old warriors who fall between the cracks

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