EVER dreamed of riding the winner of the Grand National? For one lucky Guernseywoman, that amazing dream is now a reality.
He might have been a 33-1 outsider, but when Silver Birch galloped to victory at Aintree on Saturday, it came as no surprise to islander Kim Sanders.
The 37-year-old used to be the horse’s daily-work rider at a time when he was trained by champion Paul Nicholls.
Miss Sanders explained: ‘I used to own showjumping horses and a few years ago I decided to move to England following a divorce.
‘When I arrived over there I picked up a copy of the Horse and Hound magazine and there was an advert for a cottage and stables close to where Paul Nicholls trains in Somerset.
‘I decided it was the perfect place to live and managed to get an office job working mornings only in Yeovil.
‘After my first day at work, I drove home and decided to call in on Paul Nicholls, who was advertising for work riders.
‘I was offered a job and immediately took it and gave up the office position.
‘I used to ride three lots for the trainer every morning and one of the horses I was in charge of was Silver Birch.’
From the moment she first sat on the gelding, Miss Sanders always knew there was something special about him.
And that was despite the horse’s progress being impeded by both injury and heart trouble - problems that saw him sold to current owner Brian Walsh for just 20,000 guineas and moved to Irish trainer Gordon Elliott.
‘Silver Birch was a lovely horse to ride,’ added Miss Sanders, who has since moved back to Guernsey and now works in the finance industry for Lloyds.
‘He was a real gentleman - an absolute star of the stable. He was always highly rated and loved by everyone in the yard.
‘When you sit on a horse, you immediately know whether it has what it takes to be a big-race winner and he had it all.
‘Seeing him win the Grand National came as no surprise because he’d won the Becher Chase over the National fences in 2004 and also took the Welsh National at Chepstow in the same year.
‘He was a bit unlucky with injury and so I guess his owner decided to cut his losses and get what he could for him when he sold him.
‘But I always knew he could do it and everyone who has ever been connected with Silver Birch must be over the moon.’
The horse’s success might have earned his owner close to £500,000, but Miss Sanders’s return from Guernsey’s bookmakers was slightly more modest.
‘I had a couple of quid each way,’ she admitted. ‘Not enough to change my life, but enough to have a good celebration.
‘In the build-up to the race, I told a few people to back him and hopefully they did as well.’
Article posted on 17th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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