St Irene lands Listed first for Nick Scholfield

Nick Scholfield claimed the biggest winner of his fledgling training career when St Irene struck Listed gold in the Byerley Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Taunton.

Having landed four Grade Ones and notched three Cheltenham Festival winners during a near 20-year career in the saddle, SchoLfield sent out his first runners under his own name just last month and St Irene became his first winner when opening her account over obstacles at Wincanton.

He had since added to his tally with Morning Mayhem at Uttoxeter in mid-December and Queenie St Clair at Wincanton on Boxing Day, and St Irene was a 6-4 joint-favourite to successfully step up in class in Somerset in the hands of Jack Quinlan.

Sent straight to the lead, the five-year-old jumped well throughout and knuckled down once challenged by French raider Al Fonce and then the other joint-favourite Lady Tadita to prevail by two and a half lengths.

Scholfield told Racing TV: “I haven’t been so nervous for a while! I love the mare and I was just hoping it would go like that.

“Jack gave her a lovely ride. Went she was sent to me I hadn’t even had a runner, so I’m lucky to have her.

“I loved her from day one, you can’t not like her as she’s pricking her ears all the time. She’s a special mare and hopefully we can do right by her.”

St Irene won a Southwell bumper and was placed in Listed company at Huntingdon for former trainer Ben Brookhouse.

Scholfield can now eye even loftier targets for his stable star, with a potential trip to Cheltenham in March for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle a viable option.

He added: “Myself and all my staff started at the same time together and it’s nice when you get a horse like this as when you start out you don’t always get the best horses. Ben Brookhouse has been a big help to me with her as well, he told me everything about her.

“When she came in July the Dawn Run (Mares Novices’ Hurdle) was the plan, but the handicapper gave us a mark of 116, so I qualified her for the Kelso race thinking we’d be in a handicap. But she might deserve a crack at that (Dawn Run). It’s three months away though so we’ll worry about it later.”