There are generally more setbacks than triumphs in a jump jockey’s life, but there can be moments when everything simply falls into place. Gavin Sheehan, Jamie Snowden’s stable jockey, was booked to ride at Saturday’s abandoned meeting at Newcastle but, having switched to Newbury to partner Datsalrightgino in the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup, he expertly threaded the 16-1 chance from last to first, landing one of jumping’s most valuable prizes for the first time.
The three-and-a-quarter-mile trip was a long way into unknown territory for Datsalrightgino, who spent his first season over fences racing at about two and a half. Mindful of the questions over his stamina, Sheehan settled at the back of the field for the first circuit, before creeping steadily closer from four fences out.
