'She's probably up there now, crying' - emotional first win for Fred Gingell

Thursday: Wincanton

There were joyful scenes around the winner's enclosure after the opening race, which provided an unexpected first victory in the riding career of Fred Gingell, who turned 16 just days before Christmas.

The jockey was soon surrounded by many family members, including his grandfather Colin Tizzard, trainer of the notoriously tricky West Approach, who was urged into some breathtaking leaps by his fearless young pilot.

Gingell's first thoughts were for his late mother, Kim, who died from cancer two years ago at the age of 43.

"She meant the world to me," he said. "She's probably up there now, crying. It's such a shame she can't be here to see it."

Sent off at 6-4, West Approach was the less fancied of the two runners for the Colin Lewis Memorial Open Hunters' Chase having failed to win since Cheltenham's November meeting in 2019, but the experience of being allowed to bowl along in front and attack his fences appeared to please him. "For the last circuit, the horse was loving it," Tizzard said.

Colin Tizzard on West Approach: 'The horse, I've never seen him jump like that'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"Fred was loving it and that goes through the reins. The horse, I've never seen him jump like that. I know it was only a two-horse race, but it was beautiful to watch and lovely for Fred.

"We never forget Kim. If she's watching, she'll have loved every second of that. My heart's still beating now."

At the same moment, there was an empty chair in the geography class at Sexey's School in nearby Bruton, where Gingell is due to remain a pupil until May. His father Dave revealed he had received an email enquiring about his son's absence. "I thought, well, if you look in the paper, you'll see where he is...

"Words can't explain what this means. He's been chucked in at the deep end a bit but he's responding all right.

"He loves his farming as well, Fred. When he finishes this he can come back farming. If he can make a few quid in the meantime, good."

Gingell also won praise from his uncle Joe Tizzard. "It's a big thing for Fred to come to his local track with half the family here," the assistant trainer said. "There was a lot of pressure on his back, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

"He does ride well for a little lad. He's only a little squirt, isn't he, and he's good over a fence.

"If he wants it, he's got a big opportunity to be a jockey and he looks good enough, I think. He's got a big future and that's not me being biased."

Top amateur required

Rapper could have a Cheltenham Festival target after a doughty staying performance to land the Dick Hunt Trophy in which he wore down the favourite El Paso Wood with yards to spare.

"He's won with top weight, it's what steeplechasing's all about," said his trainer Henry Daly, enjoying a change of luck after Saturday's action failed to go his way.

But Daly frowned as he nominated the National Hunt Chase as a target for the eight-year-old. "I'm really worried because I have no idea who we'd get to ride him. It is a big issue. Boys who have ridden five chase winners, they've been turning professional and the pool now is very small."

Daly felt the situation had been aggravated by the experience of Covid, with amateurs losing so many opportunities to compete.

Results, replays and analysis

Read these next:

'We've got a horse that's a stone better at Cheltenham' – Jeffreys aiming high

Nicky Henderson to run Dusart again before Cheltenham Festival decision

New Sky Bet customers can get £20 in free bets. New customers only. First single & e/w bet only. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 2 x £10 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non-withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions. Further T&Cs apply. 18+. begambleaware.org.