'The best jockey in the north, if not Britain' - Sean Quinlan rides 500th winner

It is common for celebrities to sell their own calendars and William Young will soon be getting his hands on a rather niche piece of merchandise honouring his stable star Ardera Cross, who battled to an emotional 12th victory for the trainer and gave rider Sean Quinlan his 500th winner in the process.

The veteran chaser made all, jumped superbly and bravely repelled the late challenge of Storm Tiger to land the 2m4½f handicap chase, registering a first win since the passing of Young's father, a former trainer, over Christmas.

"My dad passed away on Boxing Day and it's quite an emotional day," he said. "He was a great supporter of racing and he loved watching Ardera; he'd always ask me when he was next running.

"I had the aim if we got 12 wins out of him I could get a calendar made on his behalf, with a winner for every month. He won't be finished yet as he enjoys his work and if he's okay he'll be running this summer at Cartmel."

Ardera Cross: won for the 12th time at Ayr on TuesdayCredit: GROSSICK RACING

The 12-year-old was picked up for just £1,000 out of Dan Skelton's yard in 2019 and he has only failed to earn prize-money on seven of his 61 starts since.

"I couldn't believe my luck when I got him. He won first time out for us at 40-1 and afterwards people said there wouldn't be much of the lemon left to squeeze as Dan had done it, but I've had plenty of juice out of him!

"He's got a serious attitude. Yesterday I was supposed to be cantering him and somebody had put mane and tail spray on his mane and I could barely keep hold of him – he's a boy at heart and he loves doing his work," said Young.

On Quinlan, whose last win on Ardera Cross came in March 2021, he added: "Our relationship is brilliant. In my eyes he's the best jockey in the north, if not Britain."

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