Enchantingly old-school Mr Vango can thrill with Welsh Grand National win
When jumping fans of any age talk about a “proper, old-fashioned steeplechaser”, they have a strapping colossus of a horse in mind, with the strength to keep jumping and powering on through the deepest of winter ground when lesser rivals have cried enough.A horse like Pendil or The Dikler in the 1970s, Desert Orchid or Carvill’s Hill a decade or so later, or Denman lugging top weight to victory in the Hennessy – when it still was the Hennessy, back in 2009.Or, in the here and now, a horse like Mr Vango, the second-favourite for Saturday’s Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.Even in a year when Harry Redknapp has a live runner in the King George VI Chase at Kempton a day earlier, a win for Mr Vango this weekend would quite possibly be the most popular and heartwarming result of the entire festive racing programme.Everything about Sara Bradstock’s nine-year-old is defiantly, and enchantingly, old-school, from his massive frame and engine to the amount of time he has been given to develop and mature.
He is the latest in a long line of proper, old-fashioned steeplechasers to emerge from the historic Old Manor Stables, near Wantage in Oxfordshire, which stretches all the way back to the legendary Golden Miller, the only horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup five times in a row in the 1930s, and also includes three Grand National winners trained at the yard by the late Tim Forster in the 1970s and 1980s,More recently, it was home to the magnificent half-brothers, Carruthers and the 2015 Gold Cup winner, Coneygree, who were both trained by Bradstock alongside her late husband, Mark, and bred by her father, the journalist, broadcaster and one-time amateur jockey, Lord Oaksey,In a modern age of jumping when young chasing prospects change hands for six-figure sums, Mr Vango was a “store” horse that – by design – did not line up for a race of any kind until he was a six-year-old,Plenty of his rivals on Saturday were snapped up for big money as four- or five-year-olds after showing form over fences in an Irish point-to-point or in the French provinces, to race for owners who look for an immediate return on their investment,Mr Vango was sold as a foal for €7,000 (£6,000) in November 2016, but then disappeared from view for more than five years before winning a Cambridgeshire point-to-point in February 2022.
That was a few days before he was sold to join the Bradstock stable for £30,000, a relative pittance in modern jumping.Mr Vango was a winner for the yard over hurdles but had such size and strength that he was always going to be a much better chaser.His second race over fences was a 60-length success on bottomless ground in the Devon National at Exeter in February 2024, a few weeks before Mark Bradstock died.Sara Bradstock is now in her second full season as the sole licence-holder at Old Manor, and her children, Lily and Alfie, are also important members of a team that is dedicated to “keeping the legendary Bradstock magic alive”.In her first season, she saddled six winners from 17 runners, a remarkable strike-rate of 35%, that included a perfect three-from-three campaign by Mr Vango with wins in the London National at Sandown, the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock and the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter.
The Grand National itself is now an obvious end-of-season target for Mr Vango, as his stirring, front-running success under top weight at Uttoxeter was enough to push his rating well past the cut-off point for recent Nationals.He was raised a further 3lb, to 155, after a battling second place over the National fences on his return to action at Aintree earlier this month, but can race off his old mark of 152 on Saturday.Elegant Escape, who won off 157 in 2018, and Native River – a subsequent Gold Cup winner, no less – who won off 151 in 2016, have both defied similar marks in recent years, but a whole host of strong opponents with far less weight on their backs will be doing their utmost to stop Mr Vango doing the same.The King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day looks like one of the strongest renewals for years, rich with established top-class chasers and fast-improving novices alike.The Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday is expected to pit March’s Gold Cup winner, Inothewayurthinkin, against Galopin Des Champs, the Cheltenham hero in the previous two seasons.
But for the steeplechasing purists, there may be nothing this Christmas to rival the sight of the magnificent, front-running Mr Vango, setting off with three-and-three-quarter miles of Welsh turf ahead of him to try to jump and gallop his rivals into submission,
Cosmopolitan Christmas: Stosie Madi’s French-African-Lebanese Christmas lunch – recipes
I was born in west Africa, and brought up between there, France and the UK in a French-Lebanese-British family. Unsurprisingly, then, our Christmas lunch was more than a bit diverse: my father always insisted on some British and Lebanese elements, while my mother contributed French dishes and technique; west African produce was also a must, because the house would be full of all nationalities, including our African family. Not only that, but our Christmas would invariably start with a guest list of about 20, and another 20 or so waifs and strays would always then turn up in need of feeding and watering. Today’s dishes were part of our regular seasonal festivities, as good in the sunshine as they are robust enough for a chilly British winter.Lebanese feasts always feature some form of pie, and sambouseks are tiny little ones with various fillings
From a showstopping pavlova to a £7 sherry: what top chefs bring to Christmas dinner
Looking for a great supermarket champagne? Need an easy recipe to take to a party? Or just some really good cheese… Yotam Ottolenghi, Giorgio Locatelli, Ixta Belfrage and others reveal the best snacks, drinks and desserts to make and buy for the big dayThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Christmas is a time of overwhelming choice, especially when it comes to food. So, to help you navigate the festive feasting, we asked 16 top chefs and cooks to tell us what they buy or make to give to the people brave enough to invite them over
A fresh take on wine pairings for Christmas dessert
It may well be that you already have a drink that you traditionally like to sip on after dinner (or lunch), and who am I to tell you that needs to change? Even so, I have a few ideas for drinks you might like to try instead.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Let’s start with the classics
How to eat, drink and be merry – while pregnant – at Christmas
For a festival with childbirth at its religious heart, it is perverse how much of our traditional Christmas spread isn’t recommended for pregnant women. Pre-pregnancy, this was not something I’d clocked. I was the soft cheese supremo, canape queen – at my happiest with a smoked trout blini in one hand and a champagne flute in the other. Then one day in October, two blue lines appeared on a test result and everything started to change: my body, my future and most pressingly my Christmas.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
Jeremy Lee’s recipe for almond, chocolate and prune tart
A recipe box was rifled through, but, alas, much like shopping for a present last minute, nothing leapt to the fore. Out of the corner of an eye I spied an old folder of pudding menus, all stained and tattered. A wonder at how this might have escaped notice was soon dispelled – unsurprising, really, given the usual state of my desk and shelves – and the page on which it fell open revealed the scribbles for a midwinter pudding menu. And, just like that, as if the scent rose from the page itself, came a memory of an almond, chocolate, walnut and prune tart being lifted from the oven, all mahogany hued and with a few bubbles bursting from the pieces of chocolate among the prunes peeking out.My appetite for almond tart has never waned; be it in a restaurant kitchen or at home, an almond tart is nigh-on inevitable
Creme brulee and chocolate bundt cake: Nicola Lamb’s Christmas crowdpleasers – recipes
Even though our to-do lists are longer and our homes busier than ever, there’s something about Christmas that gives us the extra chutzpah to bake. And not just any baking, but baking for a crowd. So, with this in mind, here are two crowdpleasing recipes – a rich hazelnut “Nutcracker” creme brulee and a resplendent chocolate fondant bundt cake – with a few make-ahead and shortcut secrets to give you a head start.Serve this rich, decadent dessert warm from the oven in the centre of the table, piled with ice-cream (and perhaps pouring cream, too – why not? It’s Christmas!). The batter can be made and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then baked from chilled; add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time if you do so, though
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