Olympic Flame honour for Overturn
A crowd of about 25,000 watched Shropshire-owned horse Overturn become a part of Olympic history last night – just hours before the torch was due back in the county.
A crowd of about 25,000 watched Shropshire-owned horse Overturn become a part of Olympic history last night – just hours before the torch was due back in the county.
Overturn carried champion jockey Jason Maguire and the Olympic torch into Chester Racecourse to complete the final leg of Chester's section of the torch relay.
Mr Maguire, on the back of Overturn, lit the Olympic flame cauldron on a special stage. The crowd was then treated to an evening of entertainment including music from Kids In Glass Houses, a street dance troupe and dance act Twist and Pulse.
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Overturn is a top performer who runs on both the Flat and over hurdles, and is owned by Tim Leslie, from Cold Hatton.
The eight-year-old horse is trained by Donald McCain, whose stables are based at Cholmondeley, just over the north Shropshire border.
Mr McCain missed out on Overturn's big day as he was at the Doncaster sales but his mother, Beryl, and wife, Sian, went along with stable boy Stephen Fowles.
Mrs McCain said: "It is an honour and we were quite excited about it. It's quite a thrill and wonderful to be asked." One of Overturn's biggest achievements on the Flat was winning the Chester Cup and he finished second in this year's Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.