Promising beginnings
We went to the Cheltenham sale in 2022 to try and buy Mr Vango after seeing him win very impressively at Horseheath, and we were pleasantly surprised to be able to buy him for reasonable money. Last winter the rain seemed to never stop and poor Mark was losing his battle with cancer, but Mr Vango’s love affair with the mud was a much needed tonic. He gave Mark some wonderfully happy last days.
He is over 18hh, and it was a total bonus that he managed to win over hurdles at the first time of asking at Haydock in November 2022. Following that win, the 23/24 season, which was to be his novice chase season, was eagerly anticipated. He had a few niggles in his massive body, which meant he had a slow start, but we were pleased by his first run at Wincanton when he finished third on ground that was not nearly soft enough. The rain kept coming and we went to Exeter for the Devon National with high hopes that this was going to be the extreme stamina testing marathon that would show Mr Vango at his best. He surpassed all expectation and came home over 60 lengths in front of all his rivals! A momentary lapse in concentration had given us an anxious moment when he walked through the third last fence because he had been on his own for so long, but he finished with his head in his chest and I truly believe could have gone round again.
Mark sadly passed away on the 1st March 2024 and it was Mr Vango who kept us all going with an exceptional run in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival ten days later. He was the best of the English horses and would have beaten the much touted Embassy Gardens for second if the race was still run over 4 miles as Embassy Gardens finished totally exhausted. In fact, Mr Vango and the race winner Corbetts Cross (who subsequently ran a great race against Gold Cup horses in the Bowl at Aintree) were the only horses to finish strongly.
What’s in store for Mr Vango in the 2024/25 season?
Mr Vango has had a good summer and we are very much hoping for another wet winter in ’24/’25 when his main target will be the Welsh National. If he runs well there, and it keeps raining, he will be entered for the Grand National, but where he goes will be driven by his wellbeing and the ground as it must be heavy for him to be seen at this best.
The incessant rain may be lowering the spirits for many, but the presence of Mr Vango in the yard allows me to keep smiling even when the skylight in my bedroom is leaking!
