Cumbrian jockey Elizabeth Gale is celebrating a landmark victory at one of the country’s most famous tracks.
Gale, from Penrith, secured her first win at Aintree aboard Celebre D’Allen – her biggest victory since recovering from a broken back.
The Cumbrian, 21, said her victory in the Jewson Vieux Lion Rouge Veterans’ Handicap Chase at the home of the Grand National had allowed her to fulfil a childhood dream.
It came less than three years after Gale broke two vertebrae after a point-to-point fall, leaving the talented young jockey with a gruelling ten-month period of recovery.
At Aintree last Sunday Gale steadily worked her way into contention aboard the 3/1 favourite before sending Celebre D’Allen past Landofsmiles between the final two fences.
They coasted to victory by 16 lengths to secure a first win for Gale since a handicap chase at Warwick in February last year.
After her win aboard the Philip Hobbs and Johnson White-trained 11-year-old, Gale said: “It was easier than I thought it was going to be, that’s for sure.
“He gave me a beautiful ride around. It was his first run of the season since running in the Topham so the aim was to just get him jumping, really. He is an 11-year-old and he has seen it out beautifully.
“I used to come here as a kid with pony club and I never thought I would be walking down those steps.
“It is a massive deal for me, especially to ride a winner here.”
Gale, who rides from Somerset-based Philip Hobbs Racing, reflected on the hard journey she has taken to chalk up her landmark victory.
“I’ve had a long road to get here and anything I get is a bonus. A massive thanks to the governor [Hobbs] and Johnson White.
"I’ve been there four seasons and I missed a good bit through injury, but I can’t complain as they look after me,” she said.
“I broke my back a few years ago point-to-pointing and I missed a year of racing. It has been slow to get going, but days like these will get me going.
“I’m over the moon. It was really hard [coming back], but we have some great people looking after us so I can’t complain.”
(Main reporting: Graham Clark)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here