Henrietta Knight backs Grand Nationwide winner I Am Maximus for Cheltenham Gold Cup glory | Racing Information

It was Henrietta Knight who first recognized I Am Maximus’ star high quality and he or she is now backing the Randox Grand Nationwide hero to go on and win a Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The Gold Cup-winning coach was in her position as racing supervisor to the late Michael Grech when she first laid eyes on I Am Maximus as a yearling and it was a transparent case of affection at first sight for Knight, who relished each second of the Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old’s Aintree triumph.

The 77-year-old now feels course winner I Am Maximus has all of the capabilities to emulate her personal Finest Mate and seize the blue riband on the Cheltenham Competition.

Knight stated: “I feel he might win a Gold Cup. I am unsure how Willie will deal with all his horses for the Gold Cup and which one he would take into account the most effective, however he’s an actual stayer, Maximus, and he likes Cheltenham – he loves the hill.

“I actually loved watching the Nationwide and after he jumped the primary two fences I stated ‘he is loving it, he is bought the cling of it and loves these fences’.

“We had been simply watching him creeping and creeping and he made that one mistake at The Chair, the place he quite caught Paul (Townend, jockey) unexpectedly and he needed to name a cab, however then Paul was superb as he did not rush him.

“He simply let him get his confidence once more and on he went on the second circuit, I assumed it was implausible to observe.”

I Am Maximus spent his first few summers with Knight at her West Lockinge Farm in Wantage and after the early levels of his racing profession had been overseen by Nicky Henderson, he switched to Mullins, who Knight credit with serving to the burgeoning expertise fulfil his future of profitable Grand Nationals.

“I had the horse right here loads for 2 summers and elements of winter as effectively and he gained a bumper and a novice hurdle for Nicky Henderson,” continued Knight.

“Mike needed to maneuver all his horses to Eire and it was my concept to maneuver him to Willie’s. I doubt anybody else would have gained a Nationwide with him and he has educated him so effectively.”

She added: “I felt sorry for Jody McGarvey not driving him as a result of he has completed a very good job on him this yr, however that’s the way it goes in racing and it’s a must to have your secure jockey in your prime horse. Paul’s driving implausible and I’d need him on board.”

The son of Licensed is the newest champion off the Tom Costello manufacturing line that had been the supply of Knight’s very personal nice, Finest Mate.

The Costellos have been Knight’s go-to household when looking for high-quality new inventory and I Am Maximus was an instantaneous hit with not simply Knight herself, however the horse’s unique proprietor, who sadly died earlier than his former cost reached his peak.

“I picked him out as a yearling after which I went again and acquired him for Mike Grech as a three-year-old from the Costellos, from whom I purchased Finest Mate. He got here from a implausible place and all my greatest horses have come from them, not simply Finest Mate, however Calgary Bay, Racing Demon and Somersby as effectively.

“They produce good horses and so they purchased him from France as a yearling. I all the time liked him.

“Mike adored the horse and he was named after his spouse Maxine, it was his favorite horse. It was unlucky he had to surrender his racing pursuits and when that point got here, Willie thought he was a great candidate for JP (McManus).”

Shifting to the left at his fences has all the time been a trademark of I Am Maximus’ chasing profession, whereas he has all the time been thought to be a contact ‘quirky’ by those that have handled him on the racecourse.

Nevertheless, Knight – a identified grasp on the education grounds – has nothing however reward for his leaping potential and explains how he all the time had the hallmarks of an distinctive staying chaser within the making.

“A lot of the greatest horses are a little bit quirky and he has a little bit little bit of his personal concepts,” she stated.

“He is very simple to coach however he has his personal concepts about leaping. He was all the time a really, superb jumper and a cautious jumper, however he simply likes to measure his jumps up by going left-handed.

“Within the Olympics, you will note the excessive jumpers go off sideways to measure the bounce and it’s what I Am Maximus has all the time completed. That is his mark and the way he likes to do it.”

She went on: “He was all the time destined to be a chaser and he was unbelievable when he was right here as a teen – we might bounce him loads. He does not need to fall, he all the time desires to get it proper and which means he typically takes some quite unusual jumps that catch the jockeys unexpectedly.

“I’ve some implausible photos of Maximus leaping all types of poles and every little thing else right here, he might showjump, he’s that cautious, and he has bought the time to watch out over staying journeys. He is good at conserving his power and he does not waste any in a race.

“He is an excellent horse and he would have gone spherical once more within the Nationwide!”

There have been no fallers on this yr’s Grand Nationwide, as 21 of the 32-strong subject accomplished the marathon course.

That’s the highest variety of finishers since 2005 and with the primary 4 house all earlier Grade One winners, Knight concedes the race is a far totally different proposition to the check her late husband Terry Biddlecombe would have encountered as a jockey, however a change that’s essential to adapt with the instances.

“The primary 4 house had been all class horses and it simply reveals that cream involves the highest in races like that now,” defined Knight.

“It is not a race the place you’re going to get an enormous outsider from the underside of the weights crop up, I do not suppose. They skipped spherical numerous the horses yesterday, all of them regarded recent and every little thing regarded good.

“The one factor is I feel on the second circuit there’s hardly something to leap at as they’ve kicked all the highest off – I feel you can canter spherical in your pony and bounce these. They aren’t what they had been, however that’s what the game is now and folks need to see a race with out accidents.

“It is simply adapting to the instances and it isn’t just like the courageous riders of outdated who hunted spherical sitting on the again of their saddles on an extended rein, with pot luck and big fences. It is extra of knowledgeable race now.”