Cheltenham hero Annacotty loving life aged 16: ‘I want people to see that racehorses can be beautifully trained and cope with technical courses’

Popular racehorse and Cheltenham Paddy Power Gold Cup hero Annacotty is absolutely excelling in his second career after racing.

The 16-year-old gelding and Hannah Bishop are having the time of their lives, enjoying hunting, side saddle, RoR showing classes, beach rides and plenty of hacking, proving the true versatility of retrained racehorses. But it is in showjumping that this “naturally careful” thoroughbred excels and he became the first Cheltenham winning-racehorse to go on to win a showjumping class at Hickstead.

Buckinghamshire-based rider Hannah is rightfully proud of all that the much-loved “Gerry” has achieved.

“I think because I haven’t overdone things with him, he’s still going strong and in the best form of his life,” she says. “He feels even better now than he did two years ago. He’s more advanced in his schooling now, but he’s just a joy to ride; it’s an absolute privilege to have him.”

Annacotty: “The best racehorse they ever owned”

Hannah has been racing manager for National Hunt owner Liz Prowting for the past 20 years and she picked out the four-year-old point-to-point winner Annacotty (Beneficial x Ardross) at the sales for Mrs Prowting to buy. The youngster was nicknamed Gerry after bloodstock agent Gerry Hogan, who helped with the purchase.

“We bought the first horse that I saw – which you’re not supposed to do! But he came in under budget and he’s been the best racehorse that they’ve ever owned,” says Hannah.

Annacotty was trained by Martin Keighley in his early years, winning the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase under jockey Ian Popham before going on to triumph in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham – a first Grade One success for his owner – on his first run for trainer Alan King in 2015. His love for Cheltenham was cemented when he went on to become a dual winner of the Grade Three freebets.com Trophy Chase at the same track.

“He loved racing there and they only really ran him at Cheltenham in the end,” says Hannah.

“He retired sound and at the top of his game”

Annacotty was retired from racing after running in the 2017 Cheltenham Festival and Hannah says “I certainly wasn’t letting anyone else get their hands on him when he finished racing!” So she set about retraining her beloved and quirky Gerry for a life beyond the track.

“He retired sound from racing and that’s probably one of the strongest points – we took him out of racing when he was at the very top of his game,” she explains. “A lot of people would have kept racing him, but we didn’t want to keep pushing him.

“He’s very much a sulky character – he has to be looked after and he’s quite high maintenance in terms of the amount of attention and TLC he needs, and in terms of the person who’s looking after him. So he needs to be at home and requires cuddles, time, attention and effort, but it’s absolutely worth it.”

While he was racing, Annacotty used to enjoy some hunting “to keep him sweet” although Hannah says, “I can’t hold one side of him hunting now!”

They’ve taken part in everything from RoR (Retraining of Racehorses) racecourse parades to some side saddle, but finding his forte in showjumping has come as something of a surprise.

“He’s always had that X-factor about him and if we’d taken him out of racing at the age of five, I can say with complete confidence that he’d have gone to Badminton – he could have been anything or done anything,” says Hannah. “We were really torn at the time – did we want a world class competition horse or did we want to see how far he’d go racing? But he was bought and bred to be a racehorse – you can have pipe dreams along the way, though!

“So we thought he’d be much happier going cross-country after he retired, but it’s not often he has a pole down showjumping – he gets upset if he does, he’s just naturally very careful. I don’t know what it is, but he just loves it – it’s like he can read the numbers on the fences.

“But I try to ride respectfully rather than turn up horribly tight. I’m competitive, but his welfare comes above any turn.”

Retrained racehorse Annacotty: “We don’t ask too much of him”

Hannah and Annacotty have racked up some good showjumping wins in recent years, also competing in the RoR final at the British Showjumping National Championships, but Hannah’s stand-out success was winning at Hickstead’s All England Jumping Championships in 2021.

“He’s the only racehorse who has won at Cheltenham and gone on to win a showjumping class at Hickstead – he’s phenomenal,” says Hannah. “He’s like riding a pony.

“But we don’t go out and jump six classes across two days, we just jump one class and come home. He’s well looked after and kept sweet and managed nicely. We don’t go to the well too often.

“He could do a lot more, but the beauty of the fact is he’s still fit, competing and doing things because we haven’t stretched him beyond his limits and don’t ask for too much,” she continues. “He very rarely comes home without having paid for the outing. He’s very consistent.

“He’s the same in his racing mannerisms when he goes to shows, but he’s better at some venues than others – he has places that are in his comfort zone and he’s a complete poppet, then there are other places that if he doesn’t particularly like the venue or the atmosphere he’s quite tricky. But on the whole, he’s really good. He’s always been supremely talented but quite quirky!”

“I want people to see that racehorses can cope with a technical course”

In a full circle moment, the pair will next month (25 October) be competing in the Sportjumping Final at Bury Farm, an annual showjumping competition that combines a racing-style handicap format with the chance to have a flutter on the runners and riders. A field of 15 will line up for each of the three height classes and this is the first time that former racehorses will be taking part.

As well as Hannah Bishop with Annacotty, Rachel Vicary will be in action on the former Gary Moore-trained Shantou Master, and Clair Lewis riding Master Wickham will be bidding for glory during the gala evening.

“I just want people to see that racehorses can be beautifully well trained and cope with a technical course,” says Hannah.

“I don’t really know what to expect on the evening, but I’m looking forward to it. I know it will be a different type of showjumping track to what we’re used to, but I think he’s at that point in his life that he should be able to cope with being asked a different question.

“I can’t really afford to think about people betting on us though! I’ve done enough charity races over the years and that’s part of going racing. I’m more nervous about how he’s going to cope with the evening atmosphere – he can get a bit lit up by rowdy crowds, but hopefully he’ll just enjoy it.”

Singing the praises of the versatility of retrained racehorses, Hannah describes Annacotty as “a very smart horse to ride”.

“There’s nothing he doesn’t like, he doesn’t turn a hair and he’s just a joy to be around,” she says.

“Liz Prowting is a big National Hunt owner, she’s 85 now and we have never sold on a horse – every single racehorse stays with us for life – so there are loads out there with other people competing, doing Pony Club activities, hunting, eventing and still actively in work. They come home when they’re field-retired or they go down to Devon where friends keep them for us.

“So they’re all over the place – but you have to try to match them with the right people, and we don’t always get it right, but you try your best.

“A lot of people might have taken Gerry a lot higher, but equally you have to remember that he’s done his job and it’s now about enjoying his life which is why we keep it fun and easy,” she says of her true family horse.

“He’s such a gem, a gentleman, he’s just really, really lovely.”

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