THE 54-year wait for a Welsh winner of the Coral Welsh Grand National is over.

Last Friday Potters Corner, trained at Ogmore by Sea by Christian Williams and ridden by 17-year-old Jack Tudor, won the £150,000 race at Chepstow. He’s owned by All Stars Sports Racing and Wales rugby star Jonathan Davies. The trainer, jockey and owners are all Welsh!

The last Welsh-trained winner was Norther in 1965, so it’s been a while, as they say.

Potters Corner, now a nine-year-old, has always been a horse with talent. On only the second run of his career, he finished just behind the top class Barters Hill and Bellshill, with future champion hurdler Buveur D’Air back in fourth.

He missed almost two years with a minor leg injury, but since returning to action he’s won the Midlands National at Uttoxeter and would have gone close in the Eider Chase at Newcastle if he hadn’t fallen.

His trainer Christian was a top class jockey, riding more than 100 winners for eleven-times champion trainer Paul Nicholls. He rode Royal Auclair into second place in the 2005 Aintree Grand National. He started life as a trainer after suffering serious injury while riding.

He’s building a successful yard in the beautiful surrounding of Ogmore by Sea and is definitely a trainer with a very bright future.

For jockey Jack Tudor, it ends a brilliant year for Welsh racing. Jack’s fellow Welsh riders Connor Brace, Ben Jones, Richard Patrick and Sean Bowen have also ridden big race winners in 2019. The sport has never been in such rude health.

This year’s Coral Welsh Grand National attracted a crowd of more than 9,000 and the atmosphere was fantastic, particularly when Sir Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans sang the national anthem.

Trainer Paul Nicholls, a great supporter of Chepstow, had a Christmas to remember. He won the King George VI Chase at Kempton with Clan Des Obeaux and then saddled the second and third placed horses (Truckers Lodge and Yala Enki) in the Coral Welsh Grand National. And to top it all, he was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list.

Paul, who was born near Lydney, always sends plenty of his best horses to run at Chepstow and has won many of our feature races on multiple occasions. He’s won the Coral Welsh Grand National once as a jockey and twice as a trainer. His accolade is well deserved.

Our next meeting at Chepstow is next Monday, 6th January. Admission is just £12 in advance and a two-course carvery lunch in The View restaurant is £45 per person, which includes admission and a race day programme. There are six races from 12.45pm. Parking is free.

We also race on Friday, 17th January and Friday, 31st January. Advance tickets are £12 for both meetings.