Paisley Park One Of Five Stars To Feature In The RoR Parade On Coral Gold Cup Day

Newbury Racecourse is looking forward to welcoming back Paisley Park – “the people’s horse” as described by Aidan Coleman – as one of five retired racehorses in the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) parade after the first race on Saturday 29th November, day two of the Coral Gold Cup meeting. All five retired stars – with Paisley Park joined by Coneygree, Bristol De Mai, Smad Place and Dashel Drasher – will be paraded in the paddock at approximately 12:05pm before the second race of the day.

The hugely popular Paisley Park, winner of the 2019 Long Distance Hurdle, produced two unforgettable finishes in the 2022 and 2023 renewals of the Long Distance Hurdle, showing his tenacity when battling to the line against Champ and Dashel Drasher respectively. Retiring as a twelve-year-old after his run at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, he has since become a star attraction at Emma Lavelle’s yard – the place he considers ‘home’. He enjoys leading out younger horses and engaging with visitors. Gabrielle Jones – one of the barn managers at the yard who will ride Paisley Park on Saturday – has nurtured his natural talent in the arena, where he now excels at flatwork. Under Emma’s guidance, the pair compete successfully in RoR dressage classes. His owner, Andrew Gemmell, visits regularly, and the two still share their usual chats and polos.

Trained by the late Mark Bradstock, Coneygree won the 2015 Grade 2 Denman Chase before becoming the first Novice to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 41 years. Coneygree retired from racing in 2019 and has since been re-trained by Mark’s wife, Sara, who will be riding him in Saturday’s parade. Together they have won several RoR showing classes and twice qualified for the final of the Tattersalls RoR Show Series at Hickstead. Coneygree has even had a go at Team Chasing with Sara’s son, Alfie, charging up the hill with the same spirit that won him the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

One of the most popular National Hunt horses in recent seasons, Bristol De Mai will also be parading at Newbury on Saturday. Haydock specialist and three-time winner of the Grade 1 Betfair Chase, Bristol De Mai, ran once at Newbury in the 2017 Grade 2 Denman Chase. The fourteen-year-old, formerly trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, retired in February 2023 and is having lots of fun with Clare Lawes, who will be riding him. He has found it easy to pick up anything asked of him, whether that be flatwork or jumping. Bristol particularly loves going trail-hunting, where he stands like a rock and enjoys watching the hounds working. He also likes watching the horses on the gallops at home and leading the young horses in their early work (hopefully teaching them a thing or two).

The winner of the 2015 Hennessy Gold Cup [now Coral Gold Cup], when trained by Alan King, Smad Place was entrusted to Sarah Haydon in 2019 for his retirement by his hugely supportive owner, Mrs Peter Andrews. Now eighteen years old, Smad Place has been a wonderful example of an RoR – he has fitted into family life and adapted more than Sarah could ever have imagined. They continue to attend clinics, RoR camps and are hoping to qualify for the Jockey Club RoR National Championships, which take place at Aintree every August.

Completing the line-up is Dashel Drasher, who will be returning to the scene of his 2023 Coral Long Distance Hurdle win. Dashel Drasher, aka ‘Bugsy’, was born and bred at Jeremy Scott’s farm, so it was an emotional goodbye when Nessie Chanter collected him just four weeks ago. Whilst he hasn’t been out of training long, he has taken to trail-hunting with the Heythrop like a duck to water and enjoys being up at the front amongst the hounds. His rider Nessie reports that he has settled into his new home really well and that she is looking forward to riding him in the parade.

David Catlow, Managing Director of Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), said: “We are thrilled to be back at Newbury Racecourse again this year, presenting a wonderful line-up of former racehorses for the public to see. The RoR Parade showcases the variety of opportunities available to horses after they have retired from racing and highlights the importance of the support we offer.”

CORAL GOLD CUP WEEKEND