Fiona Needham's Cheltenham Festival hero Sine Nomine will not bid for the double at the Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse in three weeks.
Needham, who is the clerk of the course at Catterick racecourse, secured victory with Sine Nomine in the St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase at Prestbury Park – but the eight-year-old will not head to Aintree like many past winners and bid for the double in the Randox Foxhunters' Chase, which is run over the Grand National fences on the opening day of the meeting. There were 39 entries revealed for the the 2m5f contest but Sine Nomine wasn't among them.
Needham also won the St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase as a rider in 2002, partnering her father Robin Tate’s Last Option to victory. And she joined a small band who have ridden and trained the winner of the ‘amateur Gold Cup’ when bargain buy Sine Nomine, who cost just £2,400 as a three-year-old, beat the JP McManus-owned favourite Its On The Line, under John Dawson as last week's Festival. Sine Nomine, who is also owned by her father, carried the same colours Needham wore to victory herself 22 years ago.
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Needham said: "She put in a stellar performance and she’s very full of herself since. It was a wonderful day and really was the stuff dreams are made of. Her jockey gave her a brilliant ride and the bit of drama where he had to switch at the last didn’t do a lot for my heartrate at the time, but probably made the race more exciting. You would have to say she would have won quite easily but for that, but it really showed she is quite gutsy and determined. She quickened up a lot better than I expected up the
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