Racing: Cup back in the family after Riddell's steeplechase win

Jonathan Riddell won back his own family's cup when he rode Stitched to victory in the $60,000 Wellington Steeplechase in Palmerston North on Saturday.

The top jumps jockey was awarded the cup donated by cousins following the death of Riddell's uncle John Bamber.

The cup, now known as the John Bamber Memorial Challenge Cup, was originally won by Riddell's grandfather, Jack Bamber, 70 years ago in Ireland when he won a point-to-point jumps event.

Riddell said his grandfather was a top show-jumping rider in Ireland who also had success as a jumps jockey and there were many cups to choose from when selecting one to be associated with the Wellington Steeplechase.

He said the one chosen was "the cleanest mum could find".

It was first awarded in 2003 when Finbarr Leahy rode Cuchulainn to win the Wellington Steeplechase but Leahy still remains the only name on the cup.

There was no running of the Wellington Steeplechase last year or the year before because the race meetings on both occasions were abandoned on account of very wet weather.

And Saturday's race was run at Awapuni because the regular venue of Trentham is undergoing drainage work.

Riddell's win was his second win in the Wellington Steeplechase following the victory of Bodle in 2001.

But whether Saturday's was Riddell's 100th or 101st as a jumps rider was still unclear yesterday.

New Zealand Jumping Association statistician Chris McQuaid said as far as he was concerned it was Riddell's 100th. But Riddell said he was advised by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing last week that it would be his 101st.

Riddell was no wiser yesterday.

"I wouldn't have a clue," he said.

There is no question he is among the top jumps riders in New Zealand, although Allan Sharrock, the trainer of Stitched, took that a step further.

When asked how often Sharrock gets Riddell to ride for him, he replied: "Only when they are good enough to put him on because he's the best in New Zealand."

Sharrock ranked Riddell up with former Taranaki jumps jockey Brett Scott who is now one of the leading jumps riders in Australia.

Riddell said Stitched was not an easy horse to ride and often gave the impression he was a beaten horse during the running.

"A few other people have ridden him and he just bludges on them."

Riddell said that was the case inside the last 1000m on Saturday when Kia King, ridden by Richard Eynon, went past him.

"Richard went past me and I thought maybe we are not going that good," Riddell said. " I gave him a stir up and he came back underneath me. He's one of those horses who will knock off and do nothing if he wants to."

Stitched surged to the front with about 600m to run and proved too strong to score by 8 lengths.

The win completed a grand season for Sharrock. It was only four months earlier he posted a career highlight when his star galloper Wahid won the $600,000 New Zealand Derby (2400m) for 3-year-olds at Ellerslie.

Sharrock said the satisfaction of training the winner of the Wellington Steeplechase compared with the New Zealand Derby was about the same.

"It doesn't matter, a derby or a steeples, it's just as good a feeling," Sharrock said.

Second went to the Ann Browne-trained Kia King who was handy throughout while third was stablemate The Storytella who was never far from the lead. The Mussel Man made almost all the pace but lost rider Jade Lewis at the last fence when likely to run second or third.

- NZPA