Racing: Hopkins lands elusive Grand National win

Retiring jumps jockey Michelle Hopkins filled a void on her curriculum vitae when Just A Swagger won the $60,000 Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton, Christchurch, yesterday.

The race had been one of the few major hurdle races to elude Hopkins, who retires from riding at the end of the jumps season in October.

"This is fantastic," Hopkins said after the win.

"It's the one race that I haven't won of the big ones down here.

"I've won the Wellingtons, the Northerns, but this is the one I haven't had."

Just A Swagger, the favourite at $3.70, was taken straight to the front by Hopkins and led all the way to score by 6 1/2 lengths.

Second was fifth favourite Challenge who raced mid-field most of the way.

He had improved to fifth with about 1000m to run, loomed up to the winner at the top of the straight but could not bridge the gap.

Three-quarters of a length away was third favourite Al Burkan, who raced in the first four throughout. Al Burkan tried hard in the closing stages but a moderate jump at the last fence did not help his chances.

There was a gap of nine lengths to fourth-placed Bogeyman and Patronage was a well beaten fifth.

Hopkins has become one of New Zealand's most successful jumps jockeys and was yesterday having her fifth ride in the Grand National Hurdles.

Her previous four rides had resulted in a second, two thirds and a fifth.

She has long been associated with the top Waikato jumps stable of Ken and Ann Browne at Cambridge and won the national jumps jockeys' premiership in the 1996-97 season.

She has had more than 100 wins in jumping races since she began riding 15 years ago.

Hopkins, who is engaged to be married in December, announced her retirement when she rode the Browne-trained Wanderlust to win the $100,000 Great Northern Steeplechase at Ellerslie in June.

Hopkins said knowing she was retiring had taken the pressure off her riding.

"I'm just relaxed out there, I'm just enjoying it," she said.

Hopkins gained the mount on Just A Swagger only when intended rider Jonathan Riddell broke a collarbone in a racefall at Otaki on July 31.

"Thanks to Jonathan. It's my bit of luck, his bit of bad luck."

"What a neat horse. He just jumped superb the whole way and he was doing it easy."

Just A Swagger is trained at Hastings by jumping enthusiast Paul Nelson, who admitted he was surprised by Hopkins' frontrunning tactics.

"I was a bit worried when we were in front," Nelson said.

"I thought we were planning to get a bit of a sit, but we didn't get it. But it didn't matter, did it?"

Just A Swagger was having just his fourth race as a hurdler yesterday and now has a record of three wins and a second.

He gained favour for the Grand National with victory in the $27,500 Sydenham Hurdles (3200m) on the first day of the Canterbury meeting last Saturday.

Nelson was not sure of the horse's immediate future but said the Paeroa jumps meeting on September 12 was a possibility.

"He's had three races in under two weeks, so we'll just have to see," he said.

"We may get to Paeroa, or we may even put him away and look at next year."

Yesterday's fourth favourite, Narousa, the topweight with 67kg, did not complete the course after running off at a fence when well back in the field in the latter stages. Narousa had won the race in 2001.

- NZPA