Havaila Sprints to Gold Cup Glory as Bowen Seals Jockey Title at Controversial Sandown
Havaila stormed to victory in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown, headlining a dramatic finale to the jumps season that saw Sean Bowen crowned champion jockey and Dan Skelton break the £5 million prize-money barrier.
Ridden by Caoilin Quinn and trained by Gary Moore, the 5-1 shot fought off a three-way finish to win by a short head, edging Our Power (14-1) into second, with favorite Road to Home (4-1) third. It marked a third consecutive win for Havaila, who had previously triumphed at Newbury and Plumpton.
"I suppose we might have to go down the Grand National route after that," said Moore, "but let's get today over with and worry about next season in the autumn."
Quinn attributed the win to the quick ground: "He loves this quick ground and he's not stopping yet."
However, the firm going—officially 'good, good-to-firm in places'—sparked fierce criticism. A total of 18 horses were scratched across the day's eight races, including Gold Cup favorite Montregard. The Celebration Chase saw Nicky Henderson pull the popular Jonbon, while Dan Skelton's Thistle Ask was euthanized after a heavy fall in the same race. Edwardstone (11-1) took that Grade One prize.
Legendary jockey Sir Anthony McCoy blasted the conditions on ITV Sport: "It's not a good look for people wanting to watch good horse racing at the end of the season. Maybe Sandown is not the right place to have the end of the jump season."
Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper acknowledged the ideal would be good or good-to-soft, but noted: "We have a good watering system, but there has not been a millimetre of rain in April."
Amid the controversy, Sean Bowen celebrated a first champion jockey title with 241 winners, 114 ahead of runner-up Harry Skelton. JP McManus was crowned champion owner, Tristan Durrell took conditional jockey honors, and Dan Skelton earned special recognition as champion trainer.