‘I was the only one who bid for him’ - the remarkable tale of the ITV Racing star bought for £1,000

Sometimes odds stacked against horse and human can be overcome. The emotional tale of Bold Light and owner James Scott is a case in point. 

Bold Light was just a £1,000 sales purchase who shortly after was found to have a serious tendon injury. 

He was sold as a maiden point-to-pointer by Denis Hogan's Boherna Stables at Goffs UK on December 3, 2021, but didn't make his racecourse debut until April 5, 2024. 

Eleven months on, three wins and four places from seven starts have materialised, the latest in front of the ITV Racing cameras at Kelso on Saturday, when viewers saw just what Bold Light means to Scott and connections in a moving post-race interview.  

The fact the Lucinda Russell-trained eight-year-old even made it to the track for his new owner is a minor miracle, and attributable to Scott's perseverance and enthusiasm borne from a lifetime's passion for racing.

He says: "I own a taxi company and I've been racing all my life. I'd lived next to Musselburgh racecourse, so that's how I got into it. 

"I've owned horses for the last five years. I'd previously had a few with Katie Scott, but I hadn't had a winner until Bashful at Musselburgh last year on Cheltenham trials day. I've got eight horses with Lucinda Russell and Iain Jardine."

On how he came to be the proud owner of the redoubtable Bold Light, it all happened in a rather roundabout way after a bet on his point-to-point conqueror. 

"The horse who beat him in his second point-to-point is called Hidden Heroics," says Scott. "I'd backed him at Ascot and thought he was a nice horse. I noticed Bold Light had finished second to him in his point and thought he could be interesting."

James Scott (third from right) after Bold Light's Kelso success Credit: JOHN GROSSICK

Bold Light came up for sale a fortnight after Hidden Heroics' third-placed finish at Ascot, which was his third appearance in Doncaster and the fourth all told in an auction ring.

Offered by Hogan, he fetched a relative pittance when selling to Scott for £1,000, which has been made to look a bargain by the gelding, who took his earnings to nearly £50,000 at the weekend and is now rated 127 after a further 4lb rise.  

Scott, no relation to Scottish Borders trainer Katie, says: "I watched his first point, in which he fell, and his second, when he ran well. Katie was at the sales buying horses for someone else. I gave her a call and asked her to have a look at him for me. 

"She went and had a look at him and came back and said, 'He looks a bit scruffy but let's see what he goes for'. She asked how much I wanted to go to and I said, 'I don't know, I'll just wait and see.' Anyway, I put a bid in and nobody else did."

There was subsequently a lengthy period of time when it looked like Bold Light would not race at all, due to the discovery of a significant injury. 

Luckily for the son of Leading Light, he had an owner who was prepared to give him all the time he needed. 

Scott says: "He had a huge hole in his tendon. When I bought him, I brought him back to Katie's. He went lame after a week and the vet said, 'The hole is massive, he needs to be off for 14 months at least.' 

"So we put him away with Ruth Jardine, Iain's sister, who has fields and stables, and he spent the 14 months there. 

"After that we got what we thought would be our final scan before sending him to Lucinda's. I was on holiday in Aberdeen and was waiting for the final results from the scans. The vet called and said the hole had reopened and that it was going to be another 12 to 14 months. 

"He went back in the field again. The vet said it could be okay, but that if it reopened again it was going to be hard for him to be even ridden."

What has since unfolded amounts to a heartwarming tale for both horse and owner, with that proud record of earning prize-money on each of his seven runs since last spring, and three victories topped by his stirring success over Mr Bramley in the £30,000 2m5f handicap hurdle at Kelso a few days ago.

Kelso was also where he got off the mark, in a maiden hurdle in October, while his other victory came at Musselburgh on New Year's Day, his first venture into handicap company and another race shown live on ITV.

The pocket rocket also has a Grade 2 placing in Haydock's Newton Novices' Hurdle to his name, along with three other podium finishes.

Scott, speaking on Monday, says: "He looks like a pony in the parade ring, he's tiny, but he's got such a big heart, it's unbelievable. Lucinda was on the phone to me this morning about taking him to Cheltenham on April 16, but I'm not sure whether the hustle and bustle would suit him."

Cheltenham or no Cheltenham, Scott reports his pride and joy to have come out of his Kelso exertions in fine form and that there will be spring targets, subject to suitable ground conditions. 

"He came out of the race in fantastic shape and ate all of his carrots," he says. "There are plenty of options, he could go to the big places like Newbury or Ascot, Sandown for the jumps finale or the Scottish Grand National meeting. I don't think we've seen the best of him yet, I think he won with a bit in hand.

"It depends on the ground, bearing in mind his legs. If it starts getting a bit quick we could put him away."

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