Aintree race to honour Monet's Garden Aintree's Betfred Old Roan Chase will be named in honour of Monet's Garden. One of the most popular chasers of recent times in England, the dashing grey etched his name into Aintree folklore with three wins in the race. Trained by Nicky Richards and owned by David Wesley Yates, he beat dual Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Kauto Star in 2007 and produced a superb round of jumping to take the spoils again two years later. Monet's Garden treated his fans once again in 2010 with another faultless display as he made every yard of the running to gamely beat Poquelin by half a length. That proved to be his final racecourse appearance as the horse battled against a life-threatening hoof infection shortly afterwards. Following months of rehabilitation at Oaklands Veterinary Centre in Yarm, North Yorkshire, and at Richards' Cumbrian stables, the 13-year-old has made a full recovery and is set to parade at Aintree ahead of the Betfred Monet's Garden Old Roan Chase. In an illustrious career, he won 17 times from 32 starts and finished out of the first four on only seven occasions. Richards commented: "I am delighted that the Old Roan Chase will be run in honour of Monet's Garden. It's great news for myself, David, my daughter Joey and the old horse himself. "He looks grand at the moment and hopefully he will head to Aintree to parade in front of the crowds. It's been well documented how close we came to losing the old boy last winter but he's full of beans now "The response that we have received since Monet's Garden got injured has been tremendous. It's quietened off a little bit now but we still get cards in the post most weeks. "Every time I go racing, people from all walks of life come up to me and ask about him, which is fantastic."
