Robert Whitaker is the man to beat at HOYS

ROBERT WHITAKER twice beat his father, John, into second place at the Horse of the Year Show on Friday.

Robert’s first victory came in the Andrews Bowen classic, run under table C, with Mandy Hall’s Rusdeski. John had finished second by just 0.3sec with Lactic 2.

“I had a good rhythm all the way,” said Robert. “Every turn was perfect and I was able to take the first stride out each time.”

This win was followed by victory in the day’s major international class, the hoys.co.uk diamond jubilee cup. This time, Robert partnered his mother Clare’s Lacroix 9 to take the £4,500, ahead of John and Leandros De Semilly.

“Lacroix was jumping really good and when he does he’s hard to beat,” said Robert.

Robert and John recorded the only two double clears of the class.

Irish rider Billy Twomey claimed his second victory of the show with Carron Nicol’s Fantasia, an eight-year-old daughter of Noncorde, this time in the Dick Turpin stakes.

Hannah Paul and Saffier Van Der Brandkreek produced the only double clear in the young riders championship to claim the title spot for 2008. Meanwhile, Emily West “gave her dad a birthday present” by wining the Blue Chip junior newcomers final with Scharonie, who was the runner-up in Wednesday night’s junior Foxhunter championship.

Stay in touch with all the news from the Horse of the Year Show on Horseandhound.co.uk throughout the show, and don’t miss next week’s H&H for a full report including expert commentary.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now