‘The public’s horse’ backed to win Grand National for trainer whose daughter is bravely battling cancer
A six-year-old girl was among the fashion judges on Ladies’ Day at Aintree yesterday – as a reward for her bravery in battling cancer.
And on Saturday Betsy Williams will be cheering on a remarkable horse – dubbed ‘the public’s horse’ – that has helped her and her family come through the ordeal.
If Kitty’s Light wins the Grand National it will be the most tear-jerking story since jockey Bob Champion beat cancer to win on Aldiniti in 1981.
Betsy formed a special bond with Kitty’s Light – trained by her dad Christian Williams – after she was diagnosed with leukaemia just over a year ago.
Her family was in despair as gruelling rounds of chemotherapy left her at death’s door and with no hair.
But their gloom was lifted when Kitty’s Light won the Scottish Grand National in April last year.
Betsy danced and clapped with delight in front of the TV in the family’s front room as her favourite horse romped home.
Her dad, Christian, 41, says: “After going through such a terrible time Kitty brought joy back into our lives.
“There was light at the end of the tunnel.
“We are hoping he will do it again in the National – this time Betsy will be there to see it.”
Mum Charlotte, 39, spotted something was wrong with her lively little girl early in 2023.
She remembers: “I noticed for a good few weeks that she was getting a lot of arm pains, stomach pains, I knew something wasn’t right.”
NHS physiotherapist Charlotte took her to four doctors before one sent her for blood tests in hospital.
Christian was away at Cheltenham on the day the test results came back and Charlotte waited until he got home to break the heartbreaking news.
She says: “I found out at about 1pm but then had to wait until 10pm when Christian came home to tell him. It was the longest day of my life.”
Former jockey, Christian from Bridgend, South Wales, says: “It was terrible, no one expects to hear their little girl has cancer.
“The blood test showed she had 90 per cent leukaemia cells in her body.”
Betsy was admitted to the Noah’s Ark children’s hospital in Cardiff the next day and immediately started chemotherapy.
She was put on a drip, given steroids, lumbar punctures and general anaesthetics as doctors battled to save her.
Charlotte says: “Within a day she went for surgery to put a port under her skin so they could give her blood transfusions and chemo.
“They put the chemotherapy in her spine so she had to have a general anaesthetic for that.”
Christian recalls: “It was a whirlwind to start with and then intense for six months.
“They took our daughter as close to death as they could with the chemo to kill off the leukaemia.
“The way they explained it was like weedkiller being used to kill off all the weeds that have taken over the garden before daffodils and roses can grow again.
“She lost all her hair – you would think there would be a kinder way these days to treat children with this terrible illness.”
Kitty’s Light is one of 25 horses that Christian trains on gallops at his farm alongside the Ewenny River in Ogmore-by-Sea and on the nearby beaches when the tide is out.
And when the thoroughbred won the Scottish National last April it was the turning point and the racing world rallied around Betsy’s family in their hour of need.
Christian says: “Kitty became a symbol of hope for us – he was a winner and he was showing everyone the way. He bought us a great deal of joy.”
One family who was going through the same torture latched onto the race horse because their daughter Kitty was suffering from a more acute type of leukaemia.
Sadly she didn’t survive but her grieving parents have met the Williams family to give them a small blue gemstone which belonged to their Kitty.
This afternoon Kitty’s Light’s stablehand Clive Banwell, 76, will have the jewel in his pocket as he leads the 12-1 shot around the parade ring at Aintree.
Christian and Charlotte are a tight family unit and the couple feel they are all “in the fight together” to get Betsy well again.
The hidden heartbreak of the illness struck them when they discovered Betsy’s older sister Tilly, nine, was crying herself to sleep because she was worried her mum and dad could catch cancer.
Close to tears Christian said: “She thought that because we were spending so much time in hospital around cancer patients that we could catch it.
“That showed us it’s been really tough for Tilly too.”
Betsy and Tilly were invited to judge Ladies Day at Aintree yesterday(FRI) and both little girls are looking forward to being VIPs at the annual race meeting.
The pair, who go to Coity Primary School in Bridgend, have been kitted out by River Island and Betsy has chosen a blue jump suit with a big blue bow.
Betsy isn’t in the home straight yet – she has chemotherapy once a week in tablet form and has to go into hospital once every three months for a bigger dose.
Her doting parents take her temperature every day and if there’s a sudden spike they drive her into Noah’s Ark for IV antibiotics.
“They have been brilliant there,” said Christian. “The care Betsy’s had has been amazing.
“They will all be shouting for Kitty’s Light on Saturday and some of the staff may even have a bet on.”
If the eight-year-old bay gelding wins, it will be a sequel to cancer-stricken jockey Bob Champion’s win on Aldaniti 43 years ago.