There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy and Wichita Lineman when the current champion won on Wade Out
O
n an afternoon for the National Hunt diehards here on Friday, as Storm Claudia battered racegoers and runners alike, one rider’s refusal to be cowed by either the elements or circumstance was a beacon in the gloom.
There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy’s famous never-say-die ride on Wichita Lineman as Sean Bowen niggled, coaxed and cajoled the novice chaser Wade Out around two circuits of Cheltenham, and it was only in the final moments of a race that took nearly seven minutes to run that Bowen’s mount appeared to have any realistic chance of winning.
Wade Out was last of the four remaining runners heading out onto the final circuit, and from there he scarcely jumped a single fence with any fluency or speed. Several times, he appeared to be dropping away, only for Bowen to roust him back onto the coat-tails of his three rivals.
