A student who bought a share in Grand National winner Corach Rambler for just £3000 was celebrating last night after the victory scooped him £60,000.
Cameron Sword, who studies business at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt university, said it’s the “best three grand I’ve ever spent” after scraping the money together to buy a share in the horse. The 21-year-old was still in a state of disbelief after Corach Rambler’s stunning success at Aintree.
He partied in Liverpool on Saturday night then dashed with his fellow owners back to Kinross yesterday morning where hundreds of well-wishers gathered at Arlary House Stables, trainer Lucinda Russell’s yard. Nine-year-old Corach Rambler, ridden by Irishman Derek Fox, is owned by a six-strong syndicate and only cost £17,000.
He has won at back-to-back Cheltenham festivals and has now landed the biggest prize in jump racing. Corach’s career earnings since being trained by Lucinda and partner Peter Scudamore are almost £700,000.
Winning the Aintree marathon alone saw each owner bag around £60,000. It’s beyond the wildest dreams for Cameron, who only got into horse ownership as a hobby during the Covid lockdown, using his modest savings.
He said: “It’s been a crazy 24 hours. I can’t really remember him coming up the home straight. Was I thinking about the money? No, I don’t even know how much it is. When I do get it, I’ll probably do something in horse racing with it. He’s definitely the best three grand I’ve ever spent.
“It was a good night. We were aware we’d have to drive home at five in the morning so we went to the hotel for dinner, a few drinks and I was in bed for 1am. I still can’t believe it. It really hit me when we drove into the yard and saw all the cars and hundreds of people.”
Lucinda and Peter bought Corach Rambler more than two years ago and advertised him for sale on their website. Six hopefuls took the plunge to create a syndicate called The Ramblers with the horse’s breeder Paul Hillis. Ally Wood, Gary Scott and accountant Thomas Kendall previously had shares in horses at the stable. Australia-based Glaswegian Bill Wallace is a first-time owner, along with Cameron.
Local racing fan Keith Garwood, 60, originally from London, bought his share when “life was at a low ebb” in January 2021, two months after his wife Sue’s death. They’re friends for life now.
Cameron said: “The money was out of my savings and he was the only horse Lucinda had for sale, so I decided to get involved. She’s my local trainer, just 20 miles away so I came here and he was for sale. It’s pure luck. My parents didn’t try to put me off because they know how sporty I’ve been.
“If you’re not going to be a professional sportsman, this is the closest you can get. He’s my first horse so I don’t know what I’ll do next, although I’m well aware it’s never going to be like this again.”
The syndicate have a strong bond thanks to special days at Cheltenham and now the Grand National. Cameron said: “You’ll look back on the big moments in your life and we’ll always remember the people we shared them with. Everyone in the syndicate is a normal guy and we’ve won the National – we’re friends for life now. How do you top it? You can’t.”
Jockey Derek, who partnered the stable’s 2017 winner One For Arthur, fought back from a shoulder injury to make the race. Cameron made a beeline for the brave jockey to thank him.
He said: “I knew Derek would hold on in that final hundred yards. The first thing I wanted to do was congratulate Derek.
“We knew how much pain he was in, he had to strap up his shoulder to ride. We couldn’t have asked for a better man to ride the horse.”
Trainer Lucinda plans to give Corach Rambler a well-deserved break, with next March’s Cheltenham Gold Cup one potential target for the future. She said: “He’s just a fabulous horse. I don’t know if he’ll run in another National, he’s probably handicapped himself out of it now. We will give him plenty of time. You won’t be seeing him on a racetrack until December.”
She was delighted with the crowds who came to her stables yesterday to give returning hero Corach Rambler a warm welcome home. Fans can see him being paraded at today’s Kelso meeting.
Lucinda said: “I was delighted that people shared in our success, I think a lot of people backed him. It’s lovely for Scotland, it’s lovely for them and everyone who works here in the yard.
“The turnout is bigger than One For Arthur. I like the fact we can share Corach with so many people and they see the way we look after him and the standards of care we have.”
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