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- Rebecca Curtis Chases Welsh Grand National Redemption With Haiti Couleurs
As she prepares another serious contender for Chepstow this weekend, the Pembrokeshire trainer is driven as much by unfinished business as by a firm belief in a horse she considers is made for one of Welsh sport’s great occasions.
Haiti Couleurs, last season’s Irish Grand National winner, will line up as one of the leading hopes for the marathon chase on December 27, the day after Boxing Day.
For Curtis, it represents another chance to put right an agonising near miss from earlier in her career, while also showcasing a horse whose resilience mirrors her own path through the sport.
“It’s a really big race and it’s quite a public sort of race, isn’t it?” Curtis says.
“I think even people who aren’t so much into horse racing, they have a day out at the Welsh National. It’s a good day.”
That sense of occasion is central to the appeal. The Welsh Grand National is not just a major fixture in the racing calendar but one of the standout events in the wider Welsh sporting year, drawing crowds well beyond the usual racing audience.
Curtis has been close before, most memorably in 2012 when her horse Teaforthree looked set to win before being caught on the line.
“We have a bit of unfinished business there, I suppose,” she admits.
“He was a long way clear and he just got picked by Monbeg Dude on the line.
“Teaforthree deserved to win it. The sad thing is, for finishing second that day he went up eight pounds in the handicap, which probably stopped him winning the big Grand National at Aintree later in the year.”
This year, her hopes rest with a horse who has already shown he can cope with adversity.
Haiti Couleurs arrives at Chepstow following a minor scare earlier this season, when a below-par run in the Betfair Chase at Haydock raised concerns.
“We ran him in the Betfair and he didn’t even start ,really. But, luckily, we found he had quite a big problem with his back, his sacroiliac joint.
“He got medicated and he seems to have really bounced back from that. He seems in great form so we’re looking forward to getting him out again.”
The issue was not immediately obvious, but once identified, the explanation for his poor performance became clear.
“It’s a big joint that’s over the top of the back end,” Curtis explains.
“It’s sort of the powerhouse of the whole back, so if that was sore it’s quite obvious why he was a bit reluctant to go and didn’t jump well, which is one of his main assets.”
READ MORE: Sean Bowen and Rebecca Curtis Chase Welsh Double with Haiti Couleurs
The response to treatment was swift. “With medication we noticed within a few days he was better and he’s put the weight back on,” she says. “I think he’s back to his best.”
If fully fit, the Welsh Grand National looks an ideal test. Haiti Couleurs has built his reputation over extreme distances, including victory in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and his memorable success last season at Fairyhouse in the Irish Grand National.
“I think it’s a race that will really suit him,” Curtis says of the Chepstow showpiece.
“A lot of his form’s over three-and-a-half mile plus. He won the Irish Grand National which is 3.5, so the distance won’t be a problem.”
Haiti Couleurs’ journey to this point has not been straightforward. Bought after modest Irish point-to-point form, he suffered a serious injury early in his time in Wales.
“He struck into himself quite badly schooling at home,” Curtis recalls. “It was quite bad. He had to have surgery and they weren’t sure if he’d ever race again.”
READ MORE: Sean Bowen: The Champion Jockey Who Deserves Wales’ Sporting Spotlight
Eighteen months on the sidelines followed, before a steady climb back through the ranks. Since then, he has progressed relentlessly.
“He’s just kept improving,” Curtis says. “He’s a very, very tough horse, quite a feisty sort of black horse, but that is one thing with him, he is very, very tough.”
There are challenges ahead. Haiti Couleurs is likely to carry a high weight, something that often proves decisive in such an attritional contest.
“It’s a big ask because he’s going to carry a big weight, which is not ideal over that sort of trip,” Curtis acknowledges.
“A race like that probably does favour horses with lighter weights, but I think if you’ve possibly a classier horse in the race like him, they sometimes get away with carrying that weight.”
If class is required, Curtis is confident she has it in the saddle. The horse will again be ridden by Welsh champion jockey Sean Bowen, one of the dominant figures of the current jumps season.
“Sean is just very professional and very dedicated to what he does,” she says.
“He’s very cool on a horse, he’s very strong on a finish and he reads the race very well. He’s just good.”
Beyond Chepstow, Curtis has not ruled out even bigger targets. A run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup later in the season remains a possibility, depending on how Haiti Couleurs fares this weekend.
“I definitely wouldn’t rule it out,” she says. “We still don’t really know where his ceiling is.”
For Curtis herself, the prospect of returning to the Welsh Grand National with a leading chance is a marker of how far her yard has come again after leaner years.
“It’s very hard, isn’t it, being a small trainer trying to keep numbers and things like that and keeping results,” she says.
“We’ve got a great bunch of owners now who are really supportive and they’ve invested again.”
That support has brought her back to the centre of one of Wales’s biggest sporting stages.
This Saturday, with a proven stayer, a champion jockey, and unfinished business to settle, Rebecca Curtis hopes Chepstow might finally deliver a different ending.
