Christian Williams’ Kitty’s Light landed a public gamble at the Vertem Eider Handicap Chase in Newcastle when he won the 4m1f contest at odds of 7/4.
The favorite ran down an 11-pound mark from when he was second in the Scottish National last year to beat his stablemate Win My Wings, who had won the Eider Chase before her Ayr win.
And Williams was back at Newcastle this year, although it was far from easy for jockey Jack Tudor, who really had to keep up with his horse as the homecoming race unfolded.
He traded to a high of 16 in-runs at Betfair but Kitty’s Light responded well to pressure to overtake The Galloping Bear who had screwed up the last fence and he won by two and a half lengths.
View race replay
Unlimited race replays of all British and Irish races
Access to exclusive features for everyone FREE – No monthly subscription fee
Sign in with your existing Sporting Life, Sky Bet or Sky Games account. If you don’t have any of these, it’s complete FREE register!
Williams said: “I’m delighted. It was a great ride for good owners. The ground was a bit messy and he worked hard but we have a lot of faith in him and you can never write him off.
“He does his best work in the final stages of a race. He has a flat pedigree and wasn’t bred to jump fences and run four miles!
“He’s a brilliant little horse. All the stats said he couldn’t win with his age and this and that, but he’s a freak so I didn’t pay much attention to him.
“We know how difficult it is to win a race like this. We won it last year with Win My Wings probably holding 20 pounds. We thought we planned Kitty’s Light for that, but you don’t just go there and win these types of races, so I’m proud of the horse and Jack of everyone who traveled there.”
Kitty’s Light was booked for the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter on March 18th from 1.10. cut to 5/1 but seems unlikely to take his chance.
“I think we have two options now, the Scottish National and the bet365 Gold Cup. We’ll sit down and talk to the owners and see what race suits him,” Williams added.
“Last year he ran in both races but this year they’re only a week apart so I think we’ll target one or the other.
“We left him at the Midlands National in the first period because we were worried about the floor at Newcastle but I would have thought he would be taken out now.”
More from Sporting Life
Play safer
We are committed to safer gambling. Recommended bets are recommended for those over the age of 18 and we strongly encourage readers to only wager what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling please contact the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
For more support and information, see begambleaware.org And Gambling Therapy.org.
