Christian Williams says Kitty’s Light’s emotional Scottish Grand National win “picked everybody up” after his daughter Betsy’s leukaemia diagnosis.
The Welsh trainer and his family only recently had the news that his five-year-old daughter had cancer.
The win at Ayr provided a much-needed tonic and Williams is hoping Kitty’s Light can add more cheer in Saturday’s Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.
“It was a wonderful, wonderful day,” Williams said.
“It’s been a tough few weeks here for everyone – for my wife Charlotte, all my family and friends and my owners.
“It’s been tough but Kitty has been a flagship horse here for the last two years and winning the Scottish National was a massive boost for everyone, so it was a very emotional day.”
Kitty’s Light finished second in 2021 and third in 2022 in the most recent two renewals of the big race at Sandown’s Finale fixture which marks the end of the British jump racing season.
Victory for the seven-year-old this weekend would complete a rare big-race double just a week apart.
Last Saturday’s three-length victory came 12 months after his second place in the race at Ayr and Williams is hoping for the same outcome at Sandown.
Should he pull it off, Kitty’s Light would become only the second horse after the Ferdy Murphy-trained Hot Weld (2007) to follow up a Scottish National victory with a win in this weekend’s feature.
Williams reports his charge to be in fine fettle before the weekend, while the race sponsors rate Kitty’s Light as the 4-1 favourite for the 3m 5f contest.
But of greater concern to Williams is the health of his daughter, adding: “It’s a tricky one really as she’s obviously not very well, but from what she’s been through over the last six weeks she’s as good as you could have hoped.
“She’s in good hands and we’re lucky with where we are. We have a wonderful children’s hospital in Cardiff called Noah’s Ark and we’re very lucky. We need plenty of luck now and we’re in a good place for the position we’re in.
“I’m just lucky to be involved in this sport and to see the joy that horses can bring to people.
“The weekend is just one situation of what the horse has done for us when he picked everyone up – and not just my family, but friends and owners and everyone was thinking of us. It was a wonderful day and it was all down to Kitty’s Light – he’s a wonderful horse.”
This weekend’s £160,000 Premier Handicap boasts a field of 18 after Thursday’s declarations, with the likes of Grade One winner Frodon, as well as the 2021 third Enrilo and the improving pair Annsam and Mucho Mas preparing to line up.
