Havaila Wins Gold Cup As Champions Crowned At Sandown

Havaila won nan Bet365 Gold Cup successful nan jump finale astatine Sandown, wherever Sean Bowen was crowned champion jockey and champion trainer Dan Skelton collapsed done nan £5m obstruction successful prize money.

Havaila, ridden by Caoilin Quinn and trained by Gary Moore, was a 5-1 chance for nan handicap pursuit and won a three-way sprint to nan finish, beating Our Power (14-1) into 2nd spot by a short head, pinch 4-1 favourite Road to Home successful third.

It was a bittersweet time for Skelton, who had 2 winners astatine a sun-kissed Sandown but his equine Thistle Ask had to beryllium put down pursuing a dense autumn successful nan Celebration Chase.

Nicky Henderson chose to retreat nan hugely celebrated Jonbon from nan Celebration Chase, which was won by 12-year-old 11-1 chance Edwardstone, pinch nan trainer saying: "You can't beryllium risking him, it's quick."

Eighteen horses were withdrawn from nan 8 races aft nan going was confirmed arsenic 'good, but good-to-firm successful places'. That was considered to beryllium excessively patient for a number of horses.

Montregard, owned by JP McManus and trained by Tom Lacey, was taken retired of nan Gold Cup, successful which he was expected to spell disconnected arsenic favourite.

Sir AP McCoy, a 20-time champion jockey, was heavy captious of nan going, highlighting nan number of withdrawals and saying nan Sandown finale should ne'er beryllium held connected a people that is firmer than good.

Andrew Cooper, Sandown's clerk of nan course, agreed that nan conditions should ideally beryllium either bully aliases moreover good-to-soft, but added that while nan people had a bully watering strategy location had not been "a millimetre of rainfall successful April".

"It's not a bully look for group wanting to watch bully equine racing astatine nan extremity of nan season," said McCoy connected ITV Sport, earlier accepting nan clerk of nan people had a "thankless task".

"I don't cognize what you tin do, possibly Sandown is not nan correct spot to person nan extremity of nan jump season, if that is nan case, but I conscionable don't deliberation it is simply a bully look to person that galore non-runners connected a time for illustration today."