'The whole journey was a terrific experience' - Seddon owners proud of third-placed effort at Far Hills

It was not to be for Seddon in the American Grand National but Derek McGeehan, co-founder of the Galaxy Horse Racing Syndicate, has labelled the ten-year-old a "horse of a lifetime" over his exploits since joining John McConnell in the summer of 2022.

Seddon enjoyed a sensational campaign last season, landing four handicaps in a row, split between hurdles and fences and including victories at the Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham Festival and Punchestown.

Ben Harvey partnered the 2-1 shot, who led from the start in the 2m5f $250,000 contest before conceding the lead approaching the final flight and then rallying gamely in the straight to finish third to Noah And The Ark.

McGeehan said: "The experience was brilliant. There was a reception for the Irish consulate on Thursday night, which ourselves and the other Irish runners were involved in. It was a bit surreal going to the United Nations building but it was great and they spoke about the contribution the industry makes to the Irish economy.

"We had a bus to take us to the track and we had a good contingent of people between syndicate members, stable staff and friends. We were delighted with the way he ran, we're over the moon and incredibly proud. Travelling a horse that distance brings its own challenges and fair play to Gordon [Elliott] for getting a treble.

"Seddon's journey started in Ireland and he went from there to the UK, then Belgium and on to America where he was stationed in Maryland. Patrick Mullins and Shark [Hanlon] were over and it was brilliant, it felt like you were part of something bigger than yourself and the tricolours were flying around Far Hills, so they were very welcoming."

He added: "Seddon's just been the horse of a lifetime. We've been lucky as a syndicate, we've had plenty of success and we won syndicate of the year, which was great, but what Seddon has done has been completely different. He earned the right to have a shot at Far Hills and realistically we knew we would probably would never get a shot at it again."

Gordon Elliott: three-timer at Far HillsCredit: Debbie Burt

McGeehan said the syndicate was inundated with messages prior to the race, including from Gordon Elliott, who saddled the favourite in Salvador Ziggy and left Far Hills with a treble, all partnered by Jack Kennedy.

He added: "We'd like to thank everyone in the horseracing community in Ireland for the good wishes, it was actually overwhelming the amount of people who got in contact. Even Gordon shook hands with us before the race saying if he can’t win then he’d love us to win. The good will towards us has been really humbling.

"We'd like to pay tribute to Amy Crook, who looks after Seddon every day and all the work she has done with him. The whole team at Rockview have done an incredible job. He won,t come back to Ireland until October 28. It'll be difficult to replicate what he did last year but he doesn't owe us anything."

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