Ahoy Senor owner: 'I backed him at 50-1 - it's not looking bad now'

Owner Bruce Wymer revealed on Wednesday that he may be sitting on the best ante-post bet of the festival having backed Ahoy Senor at 50-1 for next week's Brown Advisory Novices' Chase.

The chaser he owns with wife Carron is available at no better than a tenth of those odds now having won Grade 2 novice events at Newbury (by 31 lengths) and Wetherby this season.

He has already given the retired couple from Aberdeen one big payday when landing the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree at 66-1 last spring.

And Bruce Wymer said: "Straight after that, I backed him for Cheltenham this year. He was 50-1 then. We're yet to find out if that was a good bet, but it seemed like a good move at the time and it's not looking bad just now.

Bruce Wymer (far left) and wife Carron after Ahoy Senor's win at Aintree, which inspired a memorable ante-post betCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"Newbury was absolutely incredible – we were so glad we managed to get there after a hell of a journey with the storms. That showed it wasn't a fluke at Aintree."

Ahoy Senor, who is trained by Lucinda Russell and Peter Scudamore, beat Bravemansgame at Aintree, but that rival came out on top when the pair clashed again in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton in December, and Paul Nicholls' chaser is lying in wait again at Cheltenham.

"Bravemansgame has got a bit more experience than we have, but Scu said Kempton wasn't right for Ahoy Senor," Wymer said.

"We were kind of forced into going there because there wasn't an alternative. This race will suit him better. We'll see."

Ahoy Senor wins at Newbury in NovemberCredit: Edward Whitaker

Despite that ante-post bet, it took a while before Ahoy Senor was committed to running in the Brown Advisory.

"It was a hard decision to run at Cheltenham," Wymer said. "We tossed and turned between all of us trying to decide what was the best thing to do. It had to be the right thing for the horse and the right race.

"We could have held off and gone to Aintree, which is probably the better track for him, but it's Cheltenham and the best horses need to compete against each other there."

The Wymers, who went into ownership two years ago thanks to an inheritance Carron received, are delighted Ahoy Senor is proving a horse good enough to boost the profile of his Scottish yard.

"We've always felt that Lucinda and Scu don't get the credit that they deserve for the work that they do," Bruce Wymer said.

"We really wanted them to have a really good horse. We were the underbidders on Petit Mouchoir when he went to the sale. They had Brindisi Breeze and One For Arthur, but they weren't really getting anything that was going to compete at Cheltenham."

Brown Advisory entries and betting

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