Patrick Browne delighted with his first Category One winner

Prince crowned Pall Mall champion

Gingers Prince gave Patrick Browne a memorable first Category One winner when landing the BetGoodwin Pall Mall final at Oxford on Saturday.

Despite being sent off at 7/1, Gingers Prince ran the race of his life to reel in hot favourite Rioja Oisin and get up right on the line in a thrilling finish.

The December 2022 son of Ballymac Cashout and Mystical Luna was winning his first race of the year and chose the perfect time to open his account for 2025.

“It was ours and the owner’s (Alan Lucas) first Category One winner and it was nice,” said Browne.

“The next morning, the jacket was on the table and we were looking at it thinking it’s what we’ve always wanted to do, so it was nice to actually do it.”

Gingers Prince was soundly beaten by Rioja Oisin in the semi-finals but turned much closer to that rival in the decider and powered home to claim the £10,000 first prize for his delighted trainer.

Browne added: “He’s got a bit of early pace himself but the problem with that final was that there was a lot of early speed in the race. 

“Rioja Oisin’s record speaks for itself and he has just won the ARC Kent Silver Salver but we thought if Gingers Prince could turn handy, then he could maybe pick him up, but you never know until the day.”

It was a brilliant training performance from Browne after Gingers Prince suffered a serious injury at Hove in February and was then off the track for over four months as a result.

The trainer explained: “He had a fracture of his shoulder blade. He took a whack at the bend and an x-ray confirmed it was a fracture. 

“There’s not a lot you can do with it apart from physio and he has come back fine.

“Time is your healer with it. He had plenty of time off and a lot of work ahead of his comeback.”

When asked about what is next for Gingers Prince, Browne replied: “We have spoken about a couple of things but we don’t have any plans really. We’ll just play it by ear and work from there.”

However, it was a night of mixed emotions for Browne as Rapido Ali broke down in the race prior to the big final at Oxford.

“It didn’t really sink in at first because we had Rapido Ali break his hock in the race before," he said.

“But he’s doing fine and will be operated on. He’s probably not going to race again and the owner is going to have him at home.”