When your horse is days away from giving you the experience of your racing dreams by representing you at the Cheltenham Festival is probably one of those times you don’t want their number appearing as an incoming call.
“Weeks and weeks of excitement have now given way to days of total fear,” explains Oli Battersby, one of the four members of the Sandylini Partnership, who jointly own Fact Of The Matter.
“Being stood in the parade ring waiting to see my horse run at the Cheltenham Festival is probably in the top five things I could ever most want to happen and all you can do now is hope that nothing goes wrong “
Having got into racing through the involvement of a family friend, Alan Halsall, following the fortunes of Halsall’s handicap chaser Wonder Weasel, who twice made it into the line‐up for the Grand National.
He took his first steps into ownership alongside Halsall and another friend and “horse racing nut” Peter Birchall into Long Lunch, trained by Charlie Longsdon.
Then Jamie Snowden called him to ask whether he’d be interested in a share in Fact Of The Matter, a point‐to‐point winner he’d bought at the Cheltenham sales in November 2014.
Along with Birchall and two other owners with whom Snowden’s persuasive powers had evidently proved successful, the group came together.
Fact Of The Matter has not let them down, winning six of his 24 starts. Until recently, his greatest day had come in the Cartmel Cup in August 2017, a race he narrowly failed to win again the following year.
Then Snowden had a brainwave and suggested schooling the horse over Cheltenham’s cross‐country fences to see if we would take to a different discipline.
“I thought it was a lousy idea,” admits Battersby. “He’d always been by and large a good jumper, but he was coming off a fall at Sedgefield and I thought we ought to get him jumping normal fences again first.
“Jamie, on the other hand, said he thought he was just getting bored in his races and might enjoy the variety. He took him to Cheltenham and, other than nearly trying to refuse at the open ditch, he took to it like an old hand.
“We were still more hopeful than confident when we went to the cross‐country race at the Open meeting, though, so it was incredible to see him give Josie’s Orders such a good race to finish second.
“Jamie had been proved absolutely right. I have to say I thought he was crazy, but that’s probably why he is the trainer and I’m not.”
After that pleasing first start around the course, Fact Of The Matter then went one place better in the cross‐country race at the same course in December, reversing form with Josie’s Orders and outbattling My Hometown to score by a neck.
He now heads to Cheltenham on Wednesday for the Glenfarclas Chase with even more needed – while those two contests were handicaps and consequently allowed him to carry a lighter burden than his rivals, he will have to beat the same horses off level weights here.
Yet however he gets on, Fact Of The Matter can be assured of some loyal and vocal support from the stands.
“Unfortunately, one of the four of us that own him hasn’t been very well, but Peter, John Cahalane and I will all be there. My two children have been really enjoying seeing him in action at the races and they’re disappointed that they have to go to school – my son William managed to empty out the free mints in the winning owners’ room at Cheltenham in December and I think he was planning another raid.
“But Peter is bringing a load of family and friends in what we’re calling ‘The Party Bus’ and that’s what ownership should be all about – sharing the joy with as many people as possible.
“We’re under no illusions. He’s probably got to find a stone and a half. But we might never have the chance to have a runner at the Cheltenham Festival again so you’ve got to make the most if it.”
For more details of ownership with Jamie Snowden and the Jamie Snowden Racing Club, see www.jamiesnowdenracing.co.uk
