Mick & David Easterby

Two Brothers wins the Cumberland Plate

6.27 | Wed 28 Jun 23 | Racing

Two Brothers is a horse on an upward curve and this afternoon he added to his tally by taking the Cumberland Plate at Carlisle. Returned at odds of 6/1 it would appear that plenty of people were 'on' after he'd been widely available at 20/1 last night.

Under a masterful ride by Billy Garritty the five-year-old son of Sir Percy raced prominently before hitting the front three furlongs out. The pair put up a brave and determined effort in the last furlong as Two Brothers stayed on well to hold off the challenge of the grey Ravenscraig Castle by a neck to land the £15,000 first prize.

Two Brothers had been in fine fettle having won convincingly at Beverley earlier this year and then running huge races at Chester and Hamilton Park. However, it hadn't always been the case and he'd been proving hard to win. We'd always had faith in the horse and the fitting of headgear last year has proved his making. Since donning a visor in September his form has read 2223412231 and we have certainly found the key to this grand horse!

Two Brothers had actually been a bit of a rascal before he hit his winning form. In May last year he unseated his rider Jonny Peate when leaving the parade ring and got loose before finishing 17th of 18 at York.

Two Brothers has an unplanned look around York racecourse last year.

Winning today off a mark of 79, he'll likely be raised out of the 0-80 bracket next week and it'll be time to find a few races with some decent prizemoney.

Two Brothers is so named because he is owned by brothers Oli and Gavin Thompson, whose patience has been rewarded with two victories in 2023 and their pride and joy doesn't look like he's finished quite yet.

By Sir Percy out of the Wild Again mare Blandish, who was placed twice in the USA and has a fine American dirt pedigree, Two Brothers appears to be the only staying descendent on the dam's side. His half-brother Tadalavil is a seven furlong winner and half-sister is currently in training with David & Nicola Barron and has been doing her winning over six.

He was purchased from Tattersalls Sales in 2018 as a foal and he has now repaid his price tag several times over.