85-year-old John Kiely and 18-year-old jockey John Gleeson combined to create a piece of racing history in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, as the JP McManus-owned A Dream To Share swept up on the outside and timed their challenge to perfection to land the prestigious prize.
Going off at a price of 9/2, the son of Muruhaar hung out the back early on before picking off the leading group to see off Fact Or File in a repeat of the Dublin Racing Festival on an incredible day for Waterford.
The victory followed on from the success of the Henry de Bromhead-trained Maskada in the Grand Annual just forty minutes earlier, and it was a first ever UK win for sixth year student Gleeson in his first ever Cheltenham Festival ride.
⭐️ A dream result in the @weatherbysltd Champion Bumper!
John Gleeson is only 18 years of age & wins on his first ride at the #CheltenhamFestival as A Dream To Share stays on best to claim G1 honours for John Kiely in the colours of JP McManus pic.twitter.com/gTRGDX6VcZ
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2023
A Dream To Share won with a length and a quarter in hand. A delighted John Gleeson told Racing TV that he 'couldn't believe' what was happening.
"We set out to keep it simple but thought the outside might be better with the ground", said Gleeson. "We did that and it was just so smooth. He did it so well. We prepared the same we did for Leopardstown. To have a winner at the Cheltenham Festival for John Kiely is amazing. That man has been so good to me. He keeps me so cool, there's never been any pressure. I'm very grateful."
"I ride this horse every morning before I go off to school."
