Eight days after his thirteenth birthday JEPECK rolled back the years with a jaunty victory from the front under top weight in the rapidcharge.com Leading EV Charging Solution Handicap Hurdle over two miles, five and a half furlongs at Wincanton on Saturday.
It came exactly twenty four months after he claimed the finest victory of his career in the £100,000 Veterans Chase at Sandown. Versatile and talented in equal measure Jepeck has found life a fair bit tougher over fences since then so it made sense to switch him back to hurdles last time at Chepstow and his recent homework had been more encouraging.
With plenty of rain falling his owner Jon Pike shrewdly had an interest in him each way at 40-1. Ben Godfrey soon had Jepeck in a steady rhythm in a clear lead and they kept going to win unchallenged by six and a half lengths.
He has been such a tremendous horse for us and I was thrilled to be at Wincanton on the day to see him bounce back in such style at his age. Jepeck has a great constitution and is a serious weapon in the conditions he faced on Saturday. He’s been a joy for us to train, gave Rex Dingle a big day in the sun at Sandown two years ago and has now provided Ben Godfrey with his final winner before he loses his 5lbs claim.
Jepeck was the fifth winner of the week for the yard and our eighteenth of the season. Lilith then came tantalisingly close to adding one more in the last race on the card.
