Horse owner Jock Allan celebrates big win

Jock, of Burghmuir Farm, had been enduring the aftermath of a cataract operation and was also feeling low after failing to sell any of his sheep at a tups sale in Kelso. But this despair turned to ecstasy when Jock watched on television as his four-year-old gelding won last Saturday’s 4.25pm Sendrig Construction Handicap Stakes.

“Seeing Cadger’s Brig win lifted me out of the dead,” Jock said.

“The victory came out of the blue because it had run two bad races before the one at Newcastle.

“I celebrated with a wee dram down the pub afterwards.

“I expect the horse to be running again before the end of the month and will certainly be putting a bit of money on it.”

Jock’s close friend and next door neighbour Eric Young said that Cadger’s Brig’s win – his second in six starts – had been a major surprise as the horse had disappointed greatly since its first triumph at Wolverhampton last December.

“There had been a number of races where Cadger’s Brig was nowhere,” Eric said.

“The biggest problem was that, because it had won the race at Wolverhampton so easily, it was hit hard by the handicappers and was carrying a lot of weight in subsequent races.”

Eric said that Cadger’s Brig was regularly top weight for a depressing spell of races in which there was no indication it was going to win at Newcastle.

He added: “Neither Jock nor me put any money on Cadger’s Brig when it raced at Newcastle, so it winning was a complete surprise and a great fillip for Jock because he’d been quite depressed. Cadger’s Brig’s win means that it won’t be going to the knacker’s yard just yet!”

Cadger’s Brig was ridden to glory at Newcastle by jockey Frederik Tylicki,

The gelding is trained by Keith Dalgleish at Carluke’s Belstane Racing Stables. And it was Keith who gave Jock and Eric a video of the Newcastle victory which earned over £2000 in prizemoney.

Eric said: “We needed the video because I’d forgotten to record the Newcastle race, despite having done so with Cadger’s Brig’s previous few unsuccessful races.

“I think that shows just how low my expectations were.

“For Cadger’s Brig to win was a real bolt out of the blue.”

Eric said that a key factor in the victory was that the ground was good to firm. This would be a key consideration when it came to deciding when Cadger’s Brig would be given another run.

Cadger’s Brig gave Jock his first win as a racehorse breeder/owner, at the ripe old age of 88, when triumphing last December.