Category: Big Races

Inaugurated, as the Feltham Novices’ Chase, in 1975, the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase is run over three miles on the opening day of the Christmas Festival at Kempton Park, a.k.a. King George VI Chase Day. Indeed, along with the King George VI Chase, itself, and the Christmas Hurdle, it is one of three prestigious Grade 1 contests on the feature card of the year at the Sunbury-on-Thames venue. In 2013, the race was permanently renamed in honour of Kauto Star, who was retired from racing the previous October, having won the King George VI five times, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011.

The 2015 renewal of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, run, as usual, on Boxing Day, was won by the 9/4 second-favourite Tea For Two, a six-year-old trained by Nick Williams. The son of leading National Hunt sire Kayf Tara jumped superbly throughout and, having taken the lead between the final two fences, only had to be pushed out to beat Southfield Royale by four lengths, with the favourite (and future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner) Native River a similar distance behind in third.

The result was significant, though, that Tea For Two was ridden by his regular partner, Lizzie Kelly, the 22-year-old stepdaughter of his trainer. Thus, Lizzie Kelly became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 National Hunt race in Britain. Reflecting on her historic victory, she said, “This has been a long time in the planning and it is some feeling.”

Befitting the most prestigious race run in Europe, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is designed to bring together the best middle-distance horses from around the world. Subject to a weight-for-age allowances, for three-year-olds, and a weight-for-sex allowance, for fillies and mares, horses compete on equal terms, unpenalised for previous victories. Consquently, runaway winners of the “Arc” are something of a rarity, although three horses collectively hold th record for the widest winning margin, which currently stands at six lengths.

The first horse to put his rivals to the sword by that distance was the unbeaten Italian-trained champion, Ribot, who justified odds-on favouritism in facile style in 1956. Already an easy three-length winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe the previous year, the Tenerani colt returned to Longchamp to beat a stronger field, headed by the the Irish Derby winner, Talgo, by even further on his second attempt.

In 1965, the French-trained Derby winner, Sea Bird, recorded another six-length verdict, which might have been further, but for drifting markedly left-handed in the closing stages. Last, but by no means least, Sakhee, trained in Britain by Saeed bin Suroor, dominated the opposition in 2001, powering clear for a six-length victory over the hitherto unbeaten filly Aquarelliste. It’s no coincidence that Sea Bird (145) and Ribot (142) remain the second and joint-sixth highest-rated Flat horses in the history of Timeform, respectively, while Sakhee (136) was also, unsurprisingly, rated in the “top class” bracket.

The second leg of the traditional “Autumn Double”, the Cesarewitch Handicap is run over two and a quarter miles at Newmarket in October. The title is derived from the Russian word “tsarevich”, the title awarded to the firstborn son of a tsar, and the race was so-named in honour of Alexander, the eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I, who ascended to the Russian throne in 1855.

The Cesarewitch is run on a wide, galloping, L-shaped course with a right-handed bend at halfway into what is, at a mile and a quarter, the longest home straight in the country. Consequently, despite the marathon distance covered, the general consensus is that horses drawn high in the Cesarewitch, which has a safety limit 34, are at a disadvantage. The last three winners were drawn 3 of 31, 9 of 21 and 6 of 32, but they were preceded by two winners drawn 20, of 34 and 30 runners respectively, and at least one horse drawn in the twenties has made the first three in all bar one of the last four renewals.

The Cesarewitch was inaugurated in 1839 and, in recent years, has posed a thorny puzzle for punters. Since 2000, just seven winners, four of which were sent off favourite, have been returned at single-figure prices and have been accompanied by winners at 66/1 (twice), 50/1 (twice) and 25/1. Indeed, one of the 66/1 winners was Aaim To Prosper, trained by Brian Meehan, who gamely repelled challengers in 2012, thereby supplementing his previous win, off a 20lb lower mark, two years previously to become the first, and so far only, horse to win the Cesarewitch Handicap twice.

The late Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022, aged 96, was the longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom. Her Majesty was also, arguably, the most enthusiastic Royal owner, breeder and racegoer in British history. A regular attendee at the Derby at Epsom and, of course, Royal Ascot – where she celebrated 24 winners as an owner, including Estimate in a historic Gold Cup in 2013 – won every British Classic except the Derby.

As an owner, the Queen was not averse to the occasional foray abroad. In June 1974, for example, she was in attendance at Chantilly Racecourse, in Northern France, to witness the victory of Highclere, trained by Dick Hern and ridden by Joe Mercer, in the Prix de Diane, or “French Oaks”. The Queen’s Hussar filly had already won the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, but opted for an extended mile and a quarter at Chantilly, rather than a mile and a half at Epsom.

Her Majesty did, in fact, make one attempt to win the most important Australian race, the Melbourne Cup. On November 4, 1997, the familiar Royal colours – scarlet and purple with gold braid and a black cap – were worn by Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori aboard Arabian Story, trained by Lord Huntingdon, William Hastings-Bass, in West Ilsley, Berkshire. Sent off at 25/1 for ‘the race that stops a nation’, the four-year-old son of high-class miler Sharrood never really threatened at Flemington Racecourse, but nonetheless kept on well throughout the final quarter of a mile to finish sixth, beaten 3½ lengths, behind the winner Might And Power.