Addington Winter Classic, Bucks
TOM WHITAKER'S "new batch" of horses were standout performers throughout this show, securing a string of prominent placings before concluding with a first and third in the winter grand prix.
It was the 11-year-old mare Nova AEG who claimed an unexpected victory in the big class, snatching the win from penultimate draw when they pipped the ever-competitive Michaela Scott and Eddie GZ by 0.58sec.
Tom had jumped the first clear of an 11-horse jump-off to set a decent lead on his new ride Klaudius - who he acquired the previous week only for Michaela to press 0.94sec ahead.
But Tom made the most of Nova's agility to regain his advantage and claim the second 1.40m win of her career.
"She's quick but doesn't have a massive stride, so suits those indoor rings - you never have to touch the rein as she's always coming forwards," Tom said.
"I didn't think I'd beat Michaela but Michaela went Alice Ellison and Babette De Landry Z bag one of the last SEIB winter novice final spots eight strides from one to two, which is where I think I won it.
"I was a bit curious about it going in on Klaudius, he has a huge stride and he made the seven there easily, so I thought if I made sure I got the seven with Nova and then kept it neat afterwards, she could win it." Nova belongs to Tom's client Anna Svedberg who bought her as a seven-year-old and was jumping her in 1m classes: "She was struggling a little bit, so I ended up riding her. She ended up telling me to keep her!
"We didn't expect her to be winning grands prix this fast." Tom has refreshed his string after selling his best horse Amaretto Daisy to his sister Ellen last year. He considers his newest addition, nine-year-old Klaudius, who was produced by Abi Bevan, to be "possibly one of the best I've had".
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