Every time the Cheltenham Festival looms, I recall a remarkable experience. It was already 25 years since Dawn Run’s recovery from a seemingly impossible position to win the Gold Cup of 1986, becoming the only horse ever to add victory in our greatest steeplechase to a triumph in the Champion Hurdle, when, for my Festival history, I interviewed her jockey.
Jonjo O’Neill took me through every stride of the race as if it had been the day before: ‘We were flying down the hill and
I could hear them coming behind us. I thought we’d gone a right gallop and couldn’t believe they were so close to us. We jumped the third last and they were jumping up my backside and I thought, “Jesus, if we don’t ping the second last we’re going to get beat.” She did ping the second last but they passed me as if I was stopped.
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