Many Clouds and Oliver Sherwood - Revisited

 Many Clouds and Oliver Sherwood - Revisited 

Can you recall your first impressions on Many Clouds, did you always think he'd end up being as good as he was?

"I saw him in a field during the summer before he came to me (2011) and just thought he was a lovely individual but a shell of a horse and had so much maturing to do. I always hoped he would be a decent horse but never seriously thought he would win a national!"

What a training performance it was for the Grand National. He had a hard race in the Gold Cup as Leighton eluded to post race, he was a pound under top weight as well. For you, how hard was it to get him right for the national that year?
"If I had had my way he wouldn’t have run in the national that year – I thought it was a year too soon – It was totally T Hemmings idea! We didn’t do a lot with him between the gold cup and the National – just tried to freshen him up."

He really had some memorable days on the racecourse, excluding his Grand National win, what was your personal favourite?
"The Hennessey was my favourite as that was ‘the plan’."


In your opinion, what made Leighton and Many Clouds gel so perfectly together?
"They just did! Leighton was the supreme horseman and they just suited each other."

Is he the best horse you've ever trained?
"Yes, he's the best horse I've trained."


What made him so special?
"He was so special as all he wanted to do was gallop and jump – he would go over a cliff for you."

If you could sum up what he meant to you personally?
"He was a horse of a lifetime and he was a great friend – you could see him maturing each year and grow with confidence."


Thanks to Oliver Sherwood for taking the time out to speak to me. I think the racing community as a whole miss Many Clouds dearly, we will never forget the horse he was. He's forever immortalised in the Grand National roll of honour.

If you enjoyed this edition of Revisited, please stay tuned! Plenty more to come.