Champion turns professional to train family home-bred horse for Grand National

Champion point-to-point handler Tom Ellis is taking out his professional training licence for the “fairytale” opportunity to train home-bred stable star Latenightpass for the Grand National.

The diminutive 11-year-old gelding, owned and bred by Tom’s mother Pippa Ellis, will be ridden in the iconic race by regular jockey – 10-time point-to-point ladies’ champion Gina Andrews, Tom’s wife.

Latenightpass, who is known as “Bobby”, has won over the National fences, when Gina piloted him to victory in the 2022 Foxhunters. This season, he went into training under Rules with Dan Skelton, Tom’s best friend, and has had success in cross-country races at Cheltenham as part of his road to Aintree, finishing second in November and winning in December.

Tom told H&H that taking out his licence is something he and Gina had discussed, and he was going to get the training programme modules done to give them options further down the line. But when Latenightpass ran so well at Cheltenham, the possibility of saddling him in the Grand National brought those plans forwards.

On the yard, the change means Gina will oversee the point-to-pointers, while Tom moves to training the horses running under Rules.

“I’m feeling excited, apprehensive and nervous – the whole lot, really!” said Tom, who has one module left to complete before he moves to the professional ranks. “It’s a step into the professional world.”

He added: “I can’t wait and feel very lucky to have a horse like Latenightpass. It’s a complete fairy tale and hard to comprehend. It’s very special to have him.

“When I started being involved with horses and with racing, you were pleased if you had a horse in the frame, then you were pleased if you had a winner – expectations keep moving, don’t they?

“I feel we’ve achieved quite a bit in a relatively short space of time in point-to-pointing. It’s taught us everything we know, and a hell of a lot more.”

In January 2022, Gina became Britain’s winningmost lady rider, while Tom also smashed the record for the most winners trained in a season. He has been crowned champion point-to-point trainer for the past five seasons.

Their journey with Latenightpass is extra special. This “eccentric” little horse was bred almost by accident. His dam, Latenightdip, won three times with Tom in the saddle. In 2011, she sustained a career-ending injury, so the family decided to put her in foal to Passing Glance. The result was “Bobby”, who was born on 3 April 2013 in sight of where he is now trained – hours before Tom had his first, and only, ride in the Aintree Foxhunters, finishing third.

He wasn’t an instant star – it famously took him six starts to break his maiden between the flags – but then once it clicked, he was away. Gina revealed in a 2022 H&H interview that he is a vocal character at home and will shout until he is ridden in the morning.

Tom said: “If he were human, he would be very eccentric, quite hyperactive, very happy to be out and would want to say ‘hi’ to everyone. He is just a lovely person. My niece is six years old and she can lead him round the yard after he has schooled, he’s a legend.”

To have had Dan as part of this horse’s journey is special too.

“We were at school together, about a mile from where I am now,” said Tom. “We’re great mates and it’s been fantastic to watch his career progress and flourish. We spent a lot of time together as kids and would skive off school in the afternoons to come back and ride my pointers and nip off to Cheltenham whenever that was on!”

He added: “It’s been really nice to start this fairy tale with him; without Dan’s help, none of this would have been possible and I’ll be for ever grateful as he didn’t have to [have the horse in training] and I owe him an awful lot.”

Latenightpass will carry 10st6lb in the 2024 Randox Health Grand National (13 April) and is around 33/1 in the current betting market.

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