Third Time Lucky For Who Dares Wins?

Features | 9th May 2019

Who Dares Wins will attempt to make it third time lucky when he lines up for the Chester Cup on Friday, 10th May.

Alan King’s versatile gelding, who carries the colours of Henry Ponsonby Racing, has been placed in the last two runnings of Chester’s most valuable race.

But hopes are high that the seven‐year‐old can add another success to an already impressive CV for a syndicate group that has celebrated more than 400 winners since its inception in 1977. “He ran very well to be third last year,” recalls Henry. “He was drawn in the car park but Ryan Moore got a lovely run up the inside.

“The previous year he produced another big run to finish fourth for Tom Marquand, who has won on him several times and will be re‐united with him this week.”

Who Dares Wins, who has 12 proud owners, was given a lengthy break before finishing third in his‘prep’ run for the famous staying handicap at Newbury last month.

“He had a small issue so we decided not to have a hurdling campaign and keep him fresh for a return to the Flat,” adds Henry. “He’s in great form at home and as long as the ground doesn’t come up fast we’re very hopeful.”

The seven‐year‐old son of Jeremy has carried his familiar white and red trimmed silks with distinction since being bought as a yearling for £30,000 gns.

As well as being placed in two Chester Cups, he has won five times on the level including the Cesarewitch Trial at Newmarket in 2017. Indeed, Who Dares Wins gave his owners another memorable day out when he was third in the Ascot Stakes at the Royal Meeting earlier that year.

But his exploits over hurdles have established him as one of the toughest dual‐purpose performers in training. He was third in a Grade 3 hurdle at Aintree last year and filled the same position in the 2017 Coral Cup at Cheltenham – one of three appearances at the Festival.

As a juvenile he won the Grade 2 Summit Hurdle at Doncaster and went on to win the Listed Gerry Feilden Hurdle at Newbury.

 

“Some of my members have been with me since the early days,” recalls Henry, “and it’s really nice that some of them are involved in Who Dares Wins.”

Henry Ponsonby Racing has 18 horses in training this year ‐including two‐year‐olds ‐ with King, Nicky Henderson, Eve Johnson Houghton, Tim Easterby and Richard Hughes.

The first winner was Beloved Mistress, who was ridden to victory by Bruce Raymond for trainer Paul Cole at Salisbury in 1977.

In more recent times Henry’s members have enjoyed success with First Mohican (second in the 2016 Cesarewitch) and Group placed Scarlet Dragon.

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