Everything's Rosy for Smith

A rider lands a second Royal Highland grand prix nine years since his first and a superstar is back from injury

- BECKY MURRAY

TIGHT turns and a mare full of heart landed James Smith his second Royal Highland grand prix title, nine years after first taking the honours.

"Every time she goes in the ring, she gives it her everything," said James of Thomas Carruthers' talented 11-year-old Juno Rose 23.

Mark McGowan’s track for the Coutts-sponsored class resulted in six combinations from 18 returning for a thrilling jump-off in Ingliston’s iconic main arena.

Penultimate pair Sandy McLean and the exciting eight-year-old SES Jumeirah nipped the lead from reigning national champions Rebecca Marsh and Stevie G with a bold approach to the final line, stopping the clock on 48.02sec. The time looked unsurpassable, but Juno Rose flexed her ability in the turnbacks, and she and James thundered home on 46.79sec.

“She loves jumping on grass and every time we do she seems to find something extra,” said James, who won in 2016 with Tyson Uno.

“It was great to have her owner there and the six clears made it an exciting jump-off,” added James, whose top placings across the show also led to him taking home the leading Scottish rider title.

“Sandy had a good round and it didn’t look like he had left much, but I planned to keep it very tight and I knew if everything came up right I wouldn't be too far away. She's naturally very quick.”

Sandy could not have been happier with Matt Pike's SES Jumeirah, who as the youngest horse in the class - and winner of the Highland’s novice championship just 12 months ago - stepped up to his first grand prix at this level valiantly.

“Second place in a 1.55m grand prix on an eight-year-old, I’ll take that any day of the week,” said Sandy.

“He’s an unbelievable horse. He came out and said, ‘Come on then, let’s get on with it.’ There were a lot of long runs and you just had to trust them and let them flow.”