Super Sprint specialist Rod Millman strikes again as remarkable £6,000 filly Anthelia stuns hot favourite in big-money contest

Rod Millman continued his career-long love affair with the Weatherbys Super Sprint after winning the £250,000 contest for a third time with Anthelia.

Purchased for just £6,000 as a yearling, the Supremacy filly has more than paid her way as she ended up on the right side of a photo-finish with favourite Havana Hurricane.

Following a nervous wait to hear the outcome of the result, Millman was able to celebrate with his family close by and hailed Anthelia’s success as a "great advert for racing and for sport".

He said: "I was very lucky to get her. You keep seeing all the millions of pounds that are getting spent on horses, but you can still do it with a nice horse.

"I spend a lot of time at the sales watching horses walk around. There are a lot of horses I bid on who don’t make too much money, but I don’t try to buy cheap horses, I try to buy nice horses cheaply. She’s head and shoulders above what we’ve had in the past."

Anthelia provided the trainer with a third win in the race after the successes of Lord Kintyre – who Millman admits saved his training career – and Bettys Hope in 1997 and 2019 respectively.

He said: "It’s a wonderful race to be involved in for any trainer, but especially the smaller trainer. It kept me in business many years ago when I was struggling and after that people sent me horses."

Anthelia has her ears pricked in the winner's enclosureCredit: Edward Whitaker

Anthelia, who runs in the colours of Middleham Park Racing, has now won four of her five starts and Millman is excited for the remainder of the season. 

"She's very brave and I'm chuffed to have her," the trainer said. "She's in the Harry's Half Million at York and then there's some nice Group races towards the end of the season. We'll chase the money and I think six furlongs will suit her just as much as five."

Despite getting on the board earlier on the card, Eve Johnson Houghton experienced mixed emotions after Havana Hurricane finished a close runner-up.

She said: "I'm thrilled but gutted – it's my unlucky race. I'm pleased for Rod but gutted for us. I think if we hadn't had the rain he might have won, but I can't possibly say that as there's no way of knowing and the winner is very good.

"We might as well have a look at Goodwood now, but I don't think he wants soft ground as it dents his turn of foot."

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