THIS was the moment Charlotte Giles hugged Sean Flanagan after winning at Cheltenham on a horse once ridden by tragic jockey Michael O’Sullivan.
Flanagan teamed up with Marine Nationale to win a hugely poignant Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday.
It was the same horse on which O’Sullivan won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle two years ago in the biggest victory of the young jockey’s career.
O’Sullivan tragically died aged 24 on February 16 from injuries sustained in a fall at Thurles ten days earlier.
His girlfriend Charlotte was at Prestbury Park and watched her true love’s former horse gallop to glory.
When Flanagan arrived back into the winner’s enclosure, he promptly hopped off the horse before embracing Giles, who had helped to saddle the horse.
While he was still in the saddle, the successful jockey opened up on what was a hugely emotional and bittersweet moment for him.
He said: “Michael, this is for you.
“It’s hugely emotional for a lot of reasons.
“All the jockeys in the world have been under a cloud for the last couple of weeks.
“I’m only the man that steered him around, Michael’s the man who made him what he is and he’ll never be forgotten.”
Giles had been in tears at the track on Tuesday as festival goers commemorated O’Sullivan before the start of the Festival.
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle was renamed in his honour and won by Paul Townend, who himself had to wipe away a tear after crossing the finish line on Kopek Des Bordes.
And speaking after the Queen Mother Chase on Wednesday, Charlotte said Marine Nationale’s performance was in keeping with the connection it had with its former jockey.
She said: “Michael loved the horse very much, they started their careers together and went on a journey together.
“The horse has certainly put his heart and soul into today and it means a lot.
“At the last jump, I kind of got a bit of a fright, but Michael was certainly with him every step of the way and it was incredible to watch it.
“I think the horse has shown what a connection he had with Michael, they understood each other and Michael always rated the horse so highly.
“In moments like this, we get a great sense that he is here with us.
“I think it’s moments like this that show he is here with us and he’ll always be there.”
Marine Nationale was one of two O’Sullivan winners at the 2023 Festival – the other being Jazzy Matty.
It made what followed the Queen Mother Champion Chase all the more extraordinary, as Jazzy Matty won the Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase
It seemed as if fate itself had aligned on the most bittersweet of weeks, with fans saying the double was written in the stars.
