Ridden by Clayton Douglas, the son of Elvstroem renewed his rivalry with old sparring partner Zed Em, as the two warriors jumped the last in unison.The eleven-year-old was made to work for it but got clear over the final stages to win by a length.
Trainer Symon Wilde was emotional after the race and full of praise for his champion galloper.
“He’s an amazing horse, he really is. To turn up as much as he has. I’m so grateful to have him,” he said.
“He went up to Lee Evison’s for some of his preparation. A lot of our winners have gone through Lee’s. I’ve got to give him a lot of credit because he was a little bit banged up after the Annual last year, a few little issues.
“He comes in before christmas and his preparation was faultless. His trial was great. We gave him a reminder that he need to jump the last and go on to win. He hasn’t won since the last Annual.
“Not always do the plans go right but to have this time for us, I’m just very grateful.”
Zed Em took up his usual role as pacemaker, with Gold Medals making a move to level-up with his rival with 600 metres left to run.
The two bumped as the landed after jumping the last, with Gold Medals able to get to the lead and keep his rivals at bay.
It was the eleven-year-olds first win since winning the Grand Annual in 2018.
Jockey Clayton Douglas was in awe of the champion.
“He’s just an unbelievable horse, this horse. Made a couple of mistakes early but I had him in an ordinary spot where I didn’t want to be and I was jumping a bit blind, but he’s just incredible,” he said.
“He’s one of those horses that travels so well in the run. A long way out he was still travelling. Coming to the second last (jump) I really asked him for a big deep effort over the last two.
“I’ve never ridden in the Annual without him – he’s the only horse I’ve ever ridden in the Annual. Massive effort by the team to get him back up. He hasn’t had a jumps run this prep and we were umming and ahhing about the Brierly.
“I wanted to run him in the Brierly and Symon said he didn’t want to wreck everything for the Annual. Terrific young trainer. He’s kicking goals. He can win with two-year-olds and win with these sorts of horses. Longevity is a massive thing.”
