Herefordshire handler Venetia Williams regularly excels in the winter months. Operating at a 17% overall strike rate across the past five seasons, that increases to an impressive 21.60% when focussing solely on the months of November and December. However, even by her high standards, the tail end of 2024 has represented a particularly satisfying period for the yard.
Picking up eight wins from 33 runners in November and seven from 29 at the time of writing in December, Williams has nudged above 24% over the past two months. As ever, Venetia has kept her winning tally ticking over at the more run-of-the-mill midweek meetings. However, what makes the current streak so satisfying is the string of major weekend successes, with Saturday afternoon seeing Williams bag a headline prize for the fourth weekend on the spin.
Gemirande Grabs Gold at Cheltenham
Venetia kicked off her weekend spree with the triumph of Royal Pagaille in the Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday, 23rd of November. Next came the tough staying victory of Frero Banbou in the Grade 3 Rehearsal Handicap Chase at Newcastle on Saturday, 30th of November, followed by the win of rising star Djelo in the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.
Last weekend’s bid to keep the big race ball rolling came in Saturday’s headline handicap event as Gemirande took his place in the December Gold Cup field. Having tried and failed in three previous outings at Cheltenham, the eight-year-old looked to have his work cut out as he butted heads with Cheltenham specialists Stage Star, Il Ridoto, Fugitif, Ga Law, and the well-backed Dan Skelton challenger Madara.
Madara started as the 11/4f, but Gemirande wasn’t short of support himself. Opening up at 17/2, a late surge of money saw the mount of Charlie Deutsch start as the 11/2 clear second choice in the market.
That money proved to be well-placed. Prominent throughout, Gemirande took up the running at the fourth fence and poured on the pace as, one by one, his rivals fell away. Having overcome a mistake at the fourth last and interference two from home, Gemirande’s final obstacle emerged in the shape of Madara who threw down his challenge coming up the famous hill.
Dan Skelton’s charge tried valiantly, drawing level over the last as the pair eyeballed each other on the run to the line. However, Gemirande had more in the locker and forged clear for a cosy one-length success.
Deutsch Diet Pays Off
This represented Venetia Williams’ second December Gold Cup win, coming 10 years after her first with Niceonefrankie. The £71,188 winner’s share of the prize money took her earnings to just short of £600,000 since the 1st of December.
Venetia Williams’ December Race Wins
| Date | Course | Horse | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Dec | Leicester | Morning Air | £4.4k |
| 4th Dec | Ludlow | Ostrava Du Berlais | £5.3k |
| 4th Dec | Haydock | Cloudy Glen | £12k |
| 5th Dec | Leicester | Authodidacte | £5.4k |
| 8th Dec | Huntingdon | Djelo | £46k |
| 12th Dec | Taunton | Ostrava Du Berlais | £6k |
| 14th Dec | Cheltenham | Gemirande | £71k |
For jockey Charlie Deutsch, this was a first December Gold Cup success. Having come close when second aboard Aso in 2016, Deutsch went one better aboard this fellow Bellamy Partnership-owned runner. However, he certainly had to work for it. Not as naturally light as he was in his younger years, Deutsch faced a race against time to shed enough pounds to enable Gemirande to carry the required 10st2lb.
Having missed meals in the week leading up to the race, the dedicated rider restricted himself to one apple, one banana, and one piece of salmon from Thursday onwards. Happily, that sacrifice paid off. Having achieved the first significant success of his career aboard the Venetia Williams-trained Aachen in a Grade 3 handicap at this meeting in 2015, a no-doubt ravenous Deutsch was able to savour the taste of victory once more at the home of the jumping game.
