'We have to be very proud of that' - Tommie Beau continues to progress after landing Southern National

Tommie Beau: made it three regional National wins for his connectionsCredit: John Grossick

Joint-owner Simon Prout was once again singing from the winner's enclosure after Tommie Beau landed the Southern National.

The Seamus Mullins-trained eight-year-old finished a length and three-quarters clear of Max Dynamo to secure a third regional National after winning the Durham version last month and the Norfolk event in May 2022.

Simon, who owns the horse alongside his wife Christine, was in buoyant mood following the race. Speaking to Sky Sports Racing, he said: "Every challenge we seem to give him he seems to respond to and in the end he’s won quite cosily. We’ve won over three and a half miles on atrocious ground and we have to be very proud of that."

Mullins has saddled Tommie Beau to 11 wins in 31 career starts and was full of praise following his second successive victory.

He added: "We trainers can often overcomplicate things and worry about the ground, but this horse just keeps giving. He’s done that ever since the day he landed at the yard and he’s given Simon and Christine a wonderful time over the last two years.

"We love buying these chasing types and this fella has been a wonderful advert for what we do and what we do best."

Promising victory

Classic Lord continued his progress for trainer Tim Vaughan when running out an impressive winner of the opening 2m1½f novice hurdle. The five-year-old was making his third start for the yard since joining from Henry de Bromhead in September and pulled 14 lengths clear of Intimate in second.

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