Yorkshire Glory clinched the £100,000 AW Bonus Horse of the Year prize with a rousing victory over chief rival Aisling Oscar at Wolverhampton on Monday night.
With only five points separating the duo beforehand, Yorkshire Glory consolidated his advantage with a decisive length verdict under Andrew Mullen to end the campaign 12 clear on 293 points.
Yorkshire Glory has been a model of consistency this season for Ben Haslam and the Blue Lion Racing syndicate, with his 14 appearances yielding eight wins, two seconds, three thirds and a fourth.
As well as the £100,000 Horse of the Year prize, Yorkshire Glory is currently tied first with Goldmoyne for the March & April Horse of the Month competition and will receive a share of £40,000.
Haslam said: “Incredible – what a horse! To be honest, I did not think that Yorkshire Glory would be able to win in this grade. That was outstanding and a great ride from Andrew.
“My old man [Patrick] would have really liked this. Yorkshire Glory is testament to the team at home. They have kept the horse going and improving all through the season, so well done to them.
“Well done to Adrian [Keatley] with Aisling Oscar. To win eight on the bounce was phenomenal and the horse has run another blinder tonight. In any normal year, he would deserve to win it, but our lad has been magnificent as well.”
Horse of the Year runner-up Aisling Oscar receives a bonus of £75,000, on top of the £20,000 he gained for winning December’s competition outright.
His trainer Adrian Keatley said: “Aisling Oscar flew home, having been a bit slowly away. We cannot complain though because the horse has been brilliant and we have had a great run out of him.
“We would have loved to win it but £75,000 is not bad for a horse who cost 3,200 guineas. Fair play to ARC, the AW Bonus is a brilliant incentive and has made the winter a bit shorter.”
