Racing: One Knight adds distinction to Hobbs' year

Royal & SunAlliance Novice Chaser Awards in association with the Independent

With the Flat season gathering pace, time was when those in charge of jumping yards would be perusing holiday brochures. But the advent of the 12-month season in general and Martin Pipe in particular has put paid to such notions. "We get Sunday week off, the day after Sandown marks the official end of the season," said Philip Hobbs, "and then the new one starts the next day."

Hobbs may have been speaking slightly facetiously, as he is not particularly a fan of summer jumping, even though he accepts it is now part of the fabric of the sport. "We have only 25 or so horses in, but it is almost our most pressurised time," he said.

"We have tremendous staff but summer is when they have holidays and we get short-handed. But having horses in training then helps the cash-flow and you've got to have runners really, otherwise by September M Pipe has disappeared into the distance. But personally I don't like it; the natural way of things is that Flat horses run on firmer ground and jumpers on softer."

Tomorrow week, Hobbs, currently in fourth place in the trainers' table behind the ubiquitous Pipe, Paul Nicholls and Jonjo O'Neill, will complete what has been his most rewarding season to date, in terms of money earned and prestige. To general delight, for he is just such a nice bloke, Hobbs and his team at Sandhill, near Minehead, sent out two Grade One winners, the Champion Hurdler, Rooster Booster, and the Royal & SunAlliance Chase hero, One Knight, at the Cheltenham Festival.

It is not often that a horse wins a championship race despite, rather than because of, his jumping, but One Knight did and yesterday, back at the scene of his triumph, Hobbs picked up the March trophy for the series of monthly awards given to mark chasing talent of the future by Royal & SunAlliance, in association with the Independent.

One Knight, a powerful, flashy, white-legged, white-blazed chestnut, runs for Chard-based Robert Gibbs, who has an agricultural machinery business, and his wife, Janet. Their pride and joy's performance at the festival was perhaps given less credit than its due, because of the dull displays by the market leaders Keen Leader and It Takes Time, and the alleged poor ride given to the runner-up Jair du Cochet.

But then, the seven-year-old, with two bumpers, two hurdles and four chases to his credit from 12 runs, has been an understated achiever all his life.

"He was very big and backward at four and we were amazed when he won easily first time out in his bumper," Hobbs said. "He'd never been pitched in at the deep end chasing before Cheltenham so we didn't really know how he'd get on. But first time out he'd beaten Le Roi Miguel, who's since turned out to be very good, in a Grade Two. And he might have been unbeaten over fences if he hadn't made a horlicks of the cross-fence at Newbury next time.

"He jumped brilliantly when he won twice at Exeter and I'm not sure what went wrong at Cheltenham, but he's such a big strong horse he got away with it. And if we can get his jumping sorted then he's bound to show improvement, which is a nice thought."

Unlike his trainer, whose final big-race flourish will come next week with the former two-mile champion Flagship Uberalles at either Sandown or Punchestown and Double Honour at the Irish meeting, One Knight is now on his summer holidays.

But he will give Hobbs plenty to dream about while on the summer treadmill, with the Hennessy Gold Cup his first target when he returns to action next season proper. Hobbs took the Newbury chase two years ago with What's Up Boys. "It's just One Knight's sort of race," he said, "one that often goes to a classy second-season chaser."