‘One in a million’: Cheltenham Gold Cup star wins fabulous showing double

The 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard is continuing to excel in his second life, pulling off a fabulous showing double this year – and beating a fellow former winner en route.

H&H reported last year that “APT”, who won for Henry de Bromhead with Rachael Blackmore, had been excelling in dressage with Emily Kate Robinson in Ireland. This year, aged 11, he is continuing to impress between the white boards as well as in the show ring. He won the racehorse to riding horse title at Balmoral – and then at Dublin Horse Show.

“That was one off the bucket list!” Emily Kate told H&H. “And it’s such a hard class to win.

“Dublin was really hot; Native River came over from England and he’d won at Hickstead; there were some big names in it.

“We didn’t expect it; I just thought I would go in and enjoy it. There was a huge crowd but he’s used to that, and in his lap of honour, when everyone was cheering for him – he loves it.”

APT enjoys hacking and the odd jumping session at home, and is aiming for the Dressage Ireland national championships at the end of August.

“It’s nice for people to see him too, he’s still in the public eye,” Emily Kate said. “And at Dublin, Rachel did a demonstration on him, so she was back on him too. She’s an ambassador for the charity Festina Lente, and the kids were doing vaulting and had miniature ponies, and she rode round with them. It was really nice.”

Emily Kate said the plan is to carry on moving up the dressage levels, and maybe to try side-saddle as something new for APT to enjoy.

“He’s a very special horse for a lot of people, and he’s brought a lot of people a lot of happiness through the years,” she said. “He’s just very special, one in a million, really.”

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