‘The family horse of a lifetime’: homebred star who made Aintree dreams come true retired sound and happy
Latenightpass, the family horse “in every sense” who made dreams come true, has retired sound and happy aged 13 following a final spin at the Cheltenham Festival.
The gelding, known at home as Bobby, was bred and owned by Pippa Ellis, trained by her son, Tom, and ridden predominantly by her daughter-in-law, record-breaking amateur jockey Gina Andrews.
His 2022 Aintree Foxhunters win was the crowning moment in his lengthy racing career. Two years later, he gave Gina her first spin in the Randox Grand National itself, cruising up among the leaders to the final fence and finishing 12th.
In total, he jumped 120 fences on the Grand National course during his six starts in various races at Aintree, ran at the Cheltenham Festival three times, and won 13 of his 38 races.
“The horse of a lifetime. Bob has run his final race and what a story he’s given us,” said Tom.
“A true family horse in every sense. A career defined by courage and consistency. 120 fences jumped on the Grand National course. A Randox Foxhunters’ Chase and a Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Chase [at Cheltenham]. Toughness personified.
“Thank you Bob, for the memories and all at Heath Barn who have been part of your story.”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
After success pointing and hunter chasing, Latenightpass spent time with Dan Skelton in the 2023/24 season to run under Rules. His cross-country win at Cheltenham in December opened up the possibility of contending the Grand National that season, so champion point-to-point handler Tom then brought forward plans to take out a professional training licence to saddle the little horse in the world’s most famous race.
“If he were human, he would be very eccentric, quite hyperactive, very happy to be out and would want to say ‘hi’ to everyone. He is just a lovely person. My niece is six years old and she can lead him round the yard after he has schooled, he’s a legend,” said Tom at the time.
Gina rode him in 35 of his races, her sister Bridget won a hunter chase on him at Warwick and finished fourth in the 2021 Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham during Covid rules and their brother Jack also rode him in the Topham Chase at Aintree last year.
Gina said Latenightpass trained for eight consecutive seasons “without a single lame step”.
“He gave me the best day of my career winning the Aintree Foxhunters’. Made my dreams come true in the Grand National itself. Never failed to complete around Aintree or Cheltenham and only twice came home without me,” she said.
“No words will ever describe what this horse has done for me in my career. A truly special horse. He gave me moments I will cherish for ever. Retired most importantly safe and sound. Thank you Pippa Ellis for breeding him. Thank you my husband Tom for training him so perfectly. Most importantly thank you Bob.”
Latenightpass finished fifth in his final race, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (11 March) at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
From the archives: ’A dream come true’
An extract from H&H’s interview with Gina Andrews in summer 2022, following her Foxhunters’ win with Latenightpass…
“The highlight of this season has been the highlight of my entire career, and that was Latenightpass winning the Foxhunters’ at Aintree. That was a dream come true. I used to think I’d rather win at the Cheltenham Festival,” says Gina, who rode Domesday Book to victory in the 2017 Kim Muir.
“But Dad always said to me, ‘Riding a winner at Aintree is better than Cheltenham’. I always thought that’s because he hadn’t ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, and I had.
“If I’d had a Cheltenham Festival win on Latenightpass or one of our own horses, maybe it would have been even more special, but I think the fact that my mother-in-law bred him and we’ve trained him at home, it was just such a family affair.”
Family is the golden thread that weaves through both the horses and humans’ lives at Heath Barn. Gina’s dad, Simon Andrews, won the 1988 Foxhunters’ on Newnham, and Latenightpass was the result of falling into breeding almost “by accident”.
His dam, Latenightdip, won three times with Tom in the saddle. In 2011, she sustained a career-ending injury, so the family decided to put her in foal to Passing Glance. The result was Bobby.
“He’s hilarious – he is very vocal and he likes to go out first. He shouts until he is ridden in the morning,” says Gina, adding that he has a particularly special relationship with Kim Hopley, who does everything with him.
“We keep saying, ‘When did he get so good?’ because he took ages to win a maiden. I think when you’ve bred them, you just sort of don’t let yourself believe that they are going to be as good as he is.”
Bobby was more a Harry Kane – famously released from Arsenal for lack of height and pace – than a youth academy star; and it took six attempts before he finally crossed the line in front.
“Once he started winning, he got his confidence up and he’s turned out to be such a good little horse. I say little, because he is – there isn’t a lot of him. I rode him out the morning of the Foxhunters’ and managed to get an interview on ITV with Luke Harvey, he nearly got me off in the process – he was absolutely wild. I had a good feeling from then on,” said Gina.
“I walked the course quietly with my best friend Charity, she came with me the first year I ever rode there. The race itself just all went to plan. I like to have a bit of daylight on him as he is only little, so you wouldn’t want to get bumped by anything bigger. As soon as we got to the Melling Road, I thought ‘I’m probably going to win now’. It was so surreal. You spend your whole career dreaming of winning a race like that. I don’t think it’s even sunk in now, really.
“An hour after the race I couldn’t even remember my interview with Alice Plunkett on TV. I had no idea what I’d said as there were just so many emotions.”
- To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
You may also be interested in:
‘We’re delighted to bring loyal readers this benefit’: H&H magazine subscribers get free website access
Champion turns professional to train family home-bred horse for Grand National
‘Who is this old fool who has come to ride?’: 70-year-old Mark Todd goes under the radar in ‘retirement’
Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.