When Latenightpass – owned and bred by Marton, Warwickshire-based Pippa Ellis – won the Aintree Foxhunters earlier this month, he was the first winning homebred for nearly 20 years. However, it’s probably a safe bet that Pippa is the first winning owner to have also bred the successful trainer, in the shape of her son Tom! Jake Exelby spoke to her afterwards to find out how the fairy-tale victory came to pass for Latenightpass.
Pippa, from Hillmorton near Rugby – not far from where she lives now with husband Tony – has been involved with horses from a young age. “My parents were horsey – Mum was a dressage judge and Dad hunted,” she tells me. “I had ponies as a kid and rode in one- and two-day events, but Mum wouldn’t let me point-to-point – she said she didn’t want a daughter without any teeth!”
“Tony and I are big hunting people,” continues Pippa, “And we had the pointing connection through (former rider and now course inspector) John Pritchard, who’s Tony’s brother-in-law. Tom won’t thank me for telling you this, but I remember one day at Guilsborough when John fell at the open ditch, to be faced with Tom and his cousin Ben Way, popping up from the ditch and covered in mud, asking, ‘What are you doing down there, uncle John?’”
Pippa’s involvement as an owner came through Tom’s passion, as she explains. “He had a smart pony, took it to a two-day event and loved it. He was too young to ride in points but John suggested he have a go at a team chase so we bought Penlet, who John used to ride, and Tom got bitten by the bug, having his first ride in points on him in 2001, foot and mouth year. It went from there. Wibbley Wobbley was the first horse Tom trained – his sister Laura had her only win on him at Kingston Blount – along with Glacial Tabhairne, who we got from Kim Bailey.”
Pippa’s first mare, Latenightpass’ dam Latenightdip, was a chance purchase. “I used to take Laura on holiday,” she laughs as she recalls the memory, “And leave the boys at home, but every time I came back, Tony would have bought a horse. He got her as a two-year-old from Jane Way and nearly left her behind as she took three hours to load on the lorry! I really liked her straightaway and we always thought she’d be alright. She won three points for us but struck into herself at Garthorpe when Gina (Andrews, now Tom’s wife, who rode Latenightpass at Aintree) was riding – she was only seven. Tony said, ‘We might as well shoot her,’ but I said, ‘You can’t’, and stamped my little foot!”
“I didn’t buy Latenightdip with the intention of breeding from her,” admits Pippa, “Although I was always fascinated by it. I’m an accidental breeder! We just took her down the road to Batsford Stud where, as a Midnight Legend mare, we got a concession to Passing Glance. There was no skill involved, no stress or hassle, we just walked her in and walked her out!”
Last week’s Aintree hero Latenightpass, AKA Bobby, was Latenightdip’s first foal – and was born just before midnight on 3rd April 2013, the day before Tom achieved what he describes as his career highlight in the saddle, finishing third on Rash Move over the same fences that the new-born foal would confront so successfully nine years later! “I never wanted to go to Aintree that day as I knew I’d be so nervous that I’d be under the stairs with a bucket over my head and a bottle of gin! I thought I’d be able to stay at home with the foal, but Tom made me come with him. Perhaps it was meant to be,” says Pippa of the coincidental timing.
“All I ever wanted to do with my first foal was win a point-to-point or two,” Pippa adds. “When Latenightpass ran first time at Cottenham and was fourth, Gina said, ‘He’s so honest that he’ll win you races,’ but I didn’t think he’d be special. I’d always quite fancied a Cheltenham winner, but had no aspirations, so when he won the Intermediate Final there in 2019, it surprised us all. Covid pushed us down the Hunter Chase route because there was no pointing and, when he won a classy race at Warwick last February with Gina’s sister Bridget on board, we knew he was good.”
A fourth in the Cheltenham Foxhunters last season was followed by a second at Aintree, where all roads led for Latenightpass in 2022. “I didn’t sleep for a week beforehand,” admits Pippa again. “I get nervous about his every run because he was the first one I bred, and just wanted him to come back safe – after all, how could we do better than last year?” Of course, Gina and Bobby did more than just come back safe, defeating Cat Tiger by one-and-a-quarter lengths to achieve a career ambition for the rider as well as the breeder.
Pippa - holding trophy - Tom, Bobby, Gina and groom Kim Hopley
“I just burst into tears and put my hat over my face so you couldn’t see me crying,” is how Pippa describes her reaction, before confirming, “We haven’t really celebrated yet. We were going to stay in a hotel on Thursday night after the race, but it was our local point-to-point at Mollington – which Tony and Tom help run – on Saturday and they said, ‘We have to go home and water the course!’ But we can’t stop smiling. I burst out in a huge grin this morning, Tony asked why and I replied, ‘We’ve just won the Foxhunters – it doesn’t happen to people like us.’ Even Gina’s smiling!” Latenightpass is now on his holidays and – according to Pippa – has already been told, “Same again next year.”
Pippa and Tony with the Aintree Foxhunters trophy
Since Latenightpass, Latenightdip has had three more foals and is about to have her fourth, by Dan Skelton’s stallion Dink. “She’s had one every other year,” Pippa tells me. “Until last year, she’s not managed to conceive with a foal at foot. She has a yearling full brother to Latenightpass and already looks as big as him – Bobby is tiny, only about 16 hands. Then we lost a full sister in 2019, have an unnamed five-year-old and Latenightfumble was born 2015.” The accidental breeder now has a second broodmare – dual winner Tiger’s Song, who is due any day now to Flag Of Honour.
The yearling full brother to Latenightpass - does Aintree 2030 beckon?
I ask Pippa about the names of her home-breds and she smiles. “Latenightpass was obvious because her mum was by Midnight Legend and dad was Passing Glance. I then wanted to keep the Latenight prefix and it was either Tony or Gina who came up with Fumble – they both have a weird sense of humour! Our five-year-old is known as Roger at home.” Any ideas for the next in the dynasty, readers?
Latenightfumble, or Florrie, is already starting to show some of her half-brother’s ability, having won her last three races and an intended runner in next week's Intermediate Final at Cheltenham. “She was a late developer like Latenightpass,” says Pippa, “And was a bit wayward earlier in her career. She’s bigger than Bobby and Gina’s brother Jack – who broke them both in – always said she’d be better, but she has enormous boots to fill and the most important thing to me is to carry on the line.”
Talk turns to the second Aintree hero bred by Pippa – son and trainer Tom, who at the time of writing is on course to win a fourth consecutive pointing trainers title, break the record for the number of winners saddled in a season and achieve his 200th winner between the flags. “I can’t tell you how proud of him I am,” she beams. “All he ever wanted to do was ride horses – he was supposed to be going to university and he waited until Tony was out shooting before he told me he didn’t want to. Like a typical mother, I was worried he’d never have a social life! I never thought he’d be a champion, just that he’d train a few pointers.”
“A lot of people forget that, as well as having a fabulous career in the saddle and training horses, he’s a serious farmer,” Pippa reminds me, “He and Gina are such a great team – she’s brilliant in the yard – and they bounce off each other. I don’t think there’s any secret to their success – it’s hard work, dedication and they just seem to do things right. They’re both competitive – they really want to win – Tom’s got a great eye for a horse, helped by David Phelan, and we’re lucky that we’ve got one of the best jockeys riding the horses.” One of the best, Pippa? Surely that’s an understatement?
Pippa pauses as I ask her for a final word. “I know that Aintree was the one Gina always wanted, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.”