28 November 2011 King Reigns Supreme in AGA Opener
by AGA
photo: Jackie Oliver
Rachel King may be small of stature, but her talent has never been in doubt and at Cottenham in Cambridgeshire on Sunday she gave Zanzibar Boy a fine front-running ride to land the first of the AGA-sponsored races scheduled for the 2011-12 campaign.
Ski Dazzle was installed favourite of the four runners, but hard though he tried he could never quite get to the grey, who jumped immaculately throughout. "He's a bit of a worrier and he didn't really settle last season," explained Karrie Fanshawe, who trains him for her husband Rob. "He needs jumping with a loose rein and Rachel's the only one who's prepared to ride him like that - none of the other jockeys I used would do it."
It was just a second runner at the track for Lambourn-based Karrie, her first having been about five years previously. Hunter chasing, including the AGA final at Cheltenham, has not been ruled out and regulation fences should hold no terrors for Zanzibar Boy, who won three Handicap Chases when trained firstly by Hughie Morrison and then Nicky Henderson.
Rachel, 21, rode her first point-to-point winner in 2008 prior to having a spell as an apprentice on the flat the following year before reverting to amateur status. Her Cottenham victory means that she is 'leader in the clubhouse' in the new AGA Total Control Lady Riders' Championship, in which riders score points in both the 28 qualifying races for the Cheltenham final and an additional 22 selected contests. The prize is an AGA Total Control cooker worth almost £10,000.
