GRAND NATIONAL WINNER, CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP 1ST, 2ND & BIG BUCK'S TO PARADE AT SANDOWN PARK
13/04/2011
On Saturday 23 April, as part of the bet365 Gold Cup Easter Festival, at Sandown Park, a Parade of Equine Champions will take place in The Parade Ring at 1230pm.
A star studded equine line up will greet racegoers with 2011 John Smith’s Grand National winner, Ballabriggs, 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Long Run, from the yard of Nicky Henderson as well as Bobs Worth, winner of 2011 Albert Bartlett Hurdle, all taking part.
They will be joined by four Paul Nicholls-trained horses including Big Buck’s, Master Minded, Denman and Zarkandar. The Jonjo O’Neill-trained Alberta’s Run, winner of 2011 Ryanair Chase and the Philip Hobbs-trained Captain Chris, winner of 2011 Arkle Chase will complete the line up.
Following the Parade of Equine Champions will be The Sandown Park Awards at 1245pm. Nick Luck and Alice Plunkett will host the awards with Olympic gold medal winning heptathlete, Denise Lewis, presenting some of the awards.
The 2011 Sandown Park Awards will be as follows:
- 2010 Charles Owen Pony Racing Champion 138cm, Connor Flint
- 2010 Charles Owen Pony Racing Champion 148cm, Rachel Leyshon
- Champion Jockey – Tony McCoy, presented by Denise Lewis
- Champion Conditional Jockey, Sam Twiston-Davies, presented by Kevin Darley
- Champion Trainer – Paul Nicholls, presented by Denise Lewis
- Champion Owner – Trevor Hemmings, presented by Jilly Cooper
- Sandown Park Special Award, tbc, presented by Sandown Park Managing Director David Mackinnon
- The People’s Award, tbc, presented by Channel 4’s John Francome and a member of public who voted
- Horse of the Year, tbc, presented by Denise Lewis
The Sandown Park People’s Award - a shortlist of candidates will be decided by a Channel 4 & Racing Post panel with members of the public voting for the overall winner via Sandown Park’s website. This was won inaugurally last year by Tony McCoy.
The Sandown Park Special Award - won last year by Jonjo O’Neill, will also be presented on the day with criteria to award it to someone that has made an outstanding contribution to Jump racing.
David Mackinnon, Managing Director of Sandown Park, commented: “We have been very pleased with how momentum has built for our end of season finale and in particular the equine and human awards over the last few years. The improved format for 2011 recognizes both the established and emerging stars and we will evolve the awards again in 2012, with further support from the industry and importantly when the two-day race meeting returns to its traditional Friday and Saturday slot.”
The two-day bet365 Gold Cup Easter Festival takes place on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 April at Sandown Park Racecourse. Tickets can be booked by calling 01372 47 00 47 or by going to www.sandown.co.uk. The first race will be at 1330pm with an 8 race mixed card for racegoers to enjoy.
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Contact: Johnno Spence
Tel No: 020 7385 8819 / 07860 583307
