National winner Many Clouds enjoys island break
Grand National hero Many Clouds is enjoying a happy and well-earned holiday in the island horsing around with two other winners of the famous race, Hedgehunter and Ballabriggs.
The brown gelding, who brought joy to many island residents who backed him in the Aintree race, is settling in well at owner Trevor Hemmings’s Ballaseyr stud, near Andreas. Many Clouds was an outsider in the Grand National tips at 25/1 but gave a superb performance in the Aintree sunshine, giving jockey Leighton Aspell back-to-back Grand National wins.
Known affectionately as ‘Cloudy’ the eight year old is getting on famously with ‘Hedgy’, now 18, and ‘Briggsy’, who is 15, and who live in retirement in the north of the island.
The Irish-bred thoroughbred who is also Jumps Horse of the year 2015, will eventually head back to trainer Oliver Sherwood’s yard in Lambourn, Berkshire, as plans are made for his racing campaign ahead and for next year’s Grand National.
Hedgehunter carried Mr Hemmings’s famous green and yellow quartered colours to victory in 2005 and Ballabriggs did the same in 2011.
Mr Hemmings said all went to plan with Many Clouds’s arrival in the Isle of Man on the Ben-my-Chree. He travelled here with ‘Hedgy’ and ‘Briggsy’, who had been to the UK to be paraded before racegoers.
He said: ‘Mick Meagher [his racing manager] brought them over to the island. He was surrounded on the boat by well-wishers.’
Mr Hemmings said Many Clouds has also found a friend with a retired racehorse called Simply Supreme and they share a paddock. He said: ‘This type of locality, where they have got this tranquility is excellent. He loves it here’
Stablehand Jane Gillon is delighted with Many Clouds saying: ‘He’s lovely, very gentle and a sweetheart.’
This has been an amazing year for Mr Hemmings who also owns Preston North End and watched the team promoted to the Championship in the play-off finals at Wembley.
‘I’m still on a kind of a high’ said Mr Hemmings who says he is still congratulated by folk who backed Many Clouds.