One of the biggest horses in training won his second ‘National’ of the season on Saturday having begun his racing career at the Cambridgeshire point-to-point venue of Horseheath.
Mr Vango, who is trained near Wantage in Oxfordshire by Sara Bradstock, added Uttoxeter’s Midlands Grand National to December’s London National at Sandown, and, for good measure, in January he landed the Peter Marsh Handicap Chase. The three races comprise almost 11 miles of galloping and suggest nine-year-old Mr Vango is a candidate for the big one, Aintree’s Randox Grand National.
That will not be this year, said his trainer after Saturday’s race, because her giant of a horse – who is owned by the Crocker And Smodge Partnership – requires good breaks between races and would not be sure of a run due to the number of horses above him in the handicap and expected to join the line-up. She also paid credit to his former trainer, Herefordshire-based Chris Barber, for the early work he did on the horse in preparation for a run in a point-to-point.
On February 19, 2022, Barber saddled Mr Vango for a 12-runner maiden race under Will Biddick at Horseheath which he duly won by 25 lengths and 30 lengths (pictured above, left). Runner-up Santos Blue has since won six races under rules for Dan Skelton’s stable and amateur rider Ben Sutton, while third-placed Forest Chimes has since won nine races for Phil Rowley’s stable, including last season’s pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novices’ Hunters’ Chase (for the John Corbet Cup) at Stratford.
Less than a week after that Horseheath win Mr Vango went under the hammer at Tattersalls Cheltenham’s February Sale where he was knocked down for £30,000 to agent Marcus Collie and Bradstock’s husband, Mark. He has since won five races for the stable and collected £212,000 in prize money.
Will Biddick is led in on Mr Vango following his maiden point-to-point victory (Graham Bishop)
Following Saturday’s victory under former point-to-point rider Jack Tudor, Bradstock told ITV Racing: “He is the biggest thoroughbred I’ve ever seen and probably is only coming to full strength now. Chris Barber did a very good job with him pointing and Covid probably helped him as there was no point campaigning him as a five-year-old. That may have been his saving grace.
“That will be it for this season, but we’re dreaming of Grand Nationals really. This year we wouldn’t get in anyway [due to the number of horses above Mr Vango in the handicap], but hopefully one day we will.”