'Speechless': Doddie Weir's MND foundation lands £60k after Doddiethegreat wins at Cheltenham Festival

The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has received a significant cash boost after Doddiethegreat - named after the former inspirational rugby player Doddie Weir - landed the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Under the guide of jockey Brian Hughes, the Nicky Henderson-trained Doddiethegreat saw off stablemate and favourite Jeriko Du Reponet to land the spoils at one of horse racing’s blue-riband events at odds of 25/1.

The prize pot for the winner for the race was £61,897, with all of the proceeds going to The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

Doddiethegreat, ridden by Brian Hughes, win The Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle during Day Three of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. | Getty Images

The charity was was set up by Weir, who died after a brave battle with Motor Neurone Disease, to raise funds for the causes of MND and the search for potential cures, and improve the lives of those living with MND and their families.

From Melrose in the Scottish Borders, Weir was capped 61 times for Scotland during his distinguished playing career and toured with the British and Irish Lions in South Africa in 1997.

Weir was diagnosed with MND and did so much to raise awareness of the disease before passing away on November 26, 2022 at the age of 52.

“I’m in bits”, said Jill Douglas, who is part of the Doddiethegreat team and a fervent supporter of the foundation. “I was speechless, I couldn’t believe it. And that’s them playing Doddie’s tune now, a beautiful piece of music. Kathy [Doddie Weir’s widiw] will be jumping.

Earlier in the day, Caldwell Potter was a poignant winner of the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, as Paul Nicholls brought up his 50th winner at the Cheltenham Festival.

Running in the colours of the late John Hales, he was subject of a mammoth €740,000 transfer fee in February 2024 with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also amongst the seven-year-old’s group of owners.

Doddie Weir did so much to raise awareness and money in the fight against MND. | Getty Images

A Grade One winner in Ireland for Gordon Elliott, Caldwell Potter had won one of his three starts since switching to Ditcheat and was given an enterprising front-running ride by Harry Cobden.

Cobden and the exuberant grey never missed a beat as they led the field a merry dance from and when the champion jockey asked his mount to lengthen entering the home straight, the result was soon a formality as Caldwell Potter silenced the doubters with real interest.

Ken Budds’ 125-1 Anyway picked up the silver medal, with with another outsider, Willie Mullins’ O’Moore Park back in third.

Hales was uppermost in Ferguson’s thoughts, as he said: “We shared lots of great days together and John introduced me to the level you have to get to in National Hunt racing.

“The horses we’ve bought with him have been more expensive than the ones we normally would have bought, like Regent’s Stroll and this one, but when you see that today, it doesn’t matter what the price is. You can’t buy how I feel now, it’s fantastic.

“The difference in football is if you buy an expensive player, you have plenty of time to assess them, you work out the type of player you need and what will fit your team and do they have the character – you can’t do that with a horse, you can’t look into their character, so it’s a gamble.

Harry Cobden riding Caldwell Potter clears the last fence on his way to winning the Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase. | Getty Images

“With a footballer, it’s a long-term thing, they can start at 17 and play until they are 41, like Ryan Giggs, whereas with a horse, when they get to 10, 11, 12 you start to wonder how much longer they will last.

“No matter how long this horse lasts, he has done something today we are so proud of.

“I didn’t know it was Paul’s 50th winner here, so that’s great for him – I think he owes us another one!”