'I had no idea' - trainer in the dark as Call Me Freddie lands massive plunge

Trainer Sam Curling said he had "no idea where the money came from" after Call Me Freddie landed a huge gamble under Rachael Blackmore in Cork's 3m handicap hurdle, the six-year-old striking as the 11-4 favourite having been available at 40-1 on Saturday morning.

Call Me Freddie had been backed into as low as 13-8 before drifting slightly before the off, and he prevailed under Blackmore in a thrilling finish.

Jumping into the lead at the final hurdle, he was met with a strong challenge by the John Joe Walsh-trained Wild Atlantic Lady, but dug in to edge home by a neck.

Prior to the race Call Me Freddie held form figures of 97090 and had been beaten a combined 330 lengths in his five starts for Curling, but that did not deter punters from latching on to him during the course of the day.

4.45 Cork full result and replay

The gathering support was accelerated when, in an added twist, Grand National-winning jockey Blackmore was called up as a late replacement for the ride after previously-booked rider Ian McCarthy was removed after incorrectly filling in Covid registration forms.

Call Me Freddie and Rachael Blackmore (right) with winning connectionsCredit: David Keane (racingpost.com/photos)

Speaking after the race, Curling attributed the booking of Blackmore as the key reason behind the massive gamble.

"I had no idea where the money was coming from, we’re not a punting yard that way," he said.

"I think people latched onto the fact that Rachael took over on him after Ian had an error with his Covid form. It’s a pity Ian couldn’t take the ride – it was purely human error that he forgot to fill his form in correctly, and he’ll be back on him next time.

"Rachael’s done a great job, but you’d expect that from her. He really knuckled down and I could see him winning again now."

Call Me Freddie was encountering good ground for the first time since moving to Curling from Jedd O’Keeffe's yard last year, and the better ground was credited as the reason for his sudden improvement.

"He's always worked like a nice horse," Curling said. "The heavy ground was against him during the winter and he seemed to improve there for the good ground. He was working away fine and had been going well, but he won a 0-95 handicap by a neck so it wasn’t like he was tearing it up."

Rachael Blackmore after riding Call Me Freddie to victory at CorkCredit: David Keane (racingpost.com/photos)

Glory for punters meant agony for bookmakers, and Paddy Power reported Call Me Freddie to be their biggest loser of the day.

Spokesman Paul Binfield said: “Hats off to the punters who backed the winner – we saw plenty of support from 40s down throughout the day and we felt the writing might be on the wall when we saw the pilot change. A proper, old-fashioned coup and well done to all involved.”

Curling, a successful point-to-point trainer based in Cashel, County Tipperary, has had a breakthrough 2020-21 campaign under rules with nine winners from 98 runners, having previously never trained more than one winner in a season.

Call Me Freddie was recording his first win on his 11th start under rules, seven of which have come over hurdles, with his best showing before this coming when finishing second in a bumper at Carlisle in November 2019 when trained by O'Keeffe.

The raceday stewards inquired into the apparent improvement in Call Me Freddie's form, with Curling giving evidence.

The trainer told the stewards he put the improved performance down to the better ground. Senior National Hunt handicapper Andrew Shaw also gave evidence, stating he felt Call Me Freddie's improvement was more in the region of stones not pounds, and it was hard to envisage how the horse could start at such a short price based on previous form.

Having considered the evidence, the stewards sent the matter to the referrals committee for further consideration.

Results, replays and analysis

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