Amateur jockey Edward Vaughan dashed from the classroom to the racecourse to partner Angels Breath to a smooth success at Taunton.
The 17-year-old rider spent the morning sitting a mock business studies test in Glamorgan in preparation for his A-levels before hurrying to the west country venue to steer his 11-year-old partner to a five-length success in the 2m5½f hunter chase for trainer/father Tim.
The busy teenager was beaten on the son of Shantou in a point-to-point last month, but his mount clearly showed the benefit of that outing before Christmas to go one better and register his first success for five years.
“It’s my last year and I’m doing my A-levels around June, so I’m doing my mock exams at the moment – it was a business one this morning and I’ve got PE on Friday, so it’s all go,” Vaughan told Racing TV.
Angels Breath, whose last win came in a Grade 2 novice chase in 2019 when trained by Nicky Henderson, was making a successful hunter chase debut for the stable.
Trainer Tim Vaughan added: “He’s obviously a nice horse on old form, and he was pretty straightforward today. Hopefully, if he comes out of this all right we’ll step him up to bigger and better things.”