Gladiateur astounds Williams as son Chester completes first treble

JANE WILLIAMS was unable to mask her amazement after an incredible afternoon for her and son Chester, capped by an “astounding” novice chase success by Gladiateur Allen.

The five-year-old was making his chase debut in the competitive heat and defied a messy round of jumping to snatch victory from Elixir De Nutz on the line by a nose.

Williams said: “It was an astounding race and performance. He made mistake after mistake, his nose even touched the ground at the second-last and for him to pick himself up and get back in the race with a short run-in, I’m very, very impressed. Most horses would have just given up but he kept going.

“We took on a proper novice chase expecting to come third, we just wanted to put his tricky behaviour at racecourses behind him as he’s a difficult ride, but he has the will to really battle, which is critical for a chaser.”

Gladiateur Allen completed a treble for Chester Williams, who claimed the opening race on the Kim Bailey-trained Voyburg before teaming up with his mother on Hermes Boy – another exciting prospect for the yard – in the novice hurdle.

“It’s been an amazing day,” Jane Williams said. “I don’t think Chester has even had a double but he’s gone and won three today. It’s fantastic, we have a really strong team at home and you just couldn’t be more happy with the results. We hope today is the stepping stone to bigger things.”