Category: Big Races

The simple answer is yes, he did, at the first time of asking. Fresh from becoming the youngest jockey in history to win the US Triple Crown, on Affirmed, in 1978, Cauthen made his eagerly-awaited British debut at Salisbury on April 7, 1979. His first ride on British soil, Marquee Universal, trained by Barry Hills, was a winning one and, less than a month later, he had partnered Tap On Wood, again for Hills, to a half-length victory over hot favourite Kris in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

It would be a few years until ‘The Kid’, as Cauthen was affectionately known, won another British Classic, but when he did, like London buses, four came along together. In 1985, by which time he was stable jockey to the late Sir Henry Cecil, Cauthen famously completed the ‘Fillies’ Triple Crown’ – that is, the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and St. Leger – on Oh So Sharp and won the Derby on Slip Anchor, for the same trainer. He would also win the Derby and the St. Leger again in 1987 on Reference Point, also trained by Cecil, and finished his career with a total of ten British Classic winners.

Until fairly recently, the Dubai World Cup, a Group One race run over 2,000 metres, or approximately a mile and a quarter, on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in late March each year, was the most valuable horse race in the world. Establised in 1996, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai World Cup still offers a total prize fund of £9.25 million, of which £5.69 million goes to the winner.

However, since 2020, the most valuable horse race in the world has been the Saudi Cup, a conditions race run over 1,800 netres, or approximately nine furlongs, again on dirt, at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in late February. The total prize fund for the Saudi Cup is £15.4 million, with £7.5 million, or just under half, reserved for the winner. The positioning of the Saudi Cup on the calendar is deliberate, insofar as it allows participants to contest the Dubai World Cup, four weeks later. The most recent winner, Mishriff, trained by John Gosden, ran at the Dubai World Cup Meeting, but opted for, and won, the Dubai Sheema Classic. run over a mile and a half and worth a mere £2.2 million to the winner, rather than the Dubai world Cup itself.

Hurst Park Racecourse, which staged its final meeting on October 10, 1962, was situated at Moulsey Hurst in West Molesey, Surrey, on the banks of the River Thames, approximately 12 miles from London. Hurst Park was built as a replacement for Hampton Racecourse, which closed permanently in 1887 after the Jockey Club refused to renew its licence.

Under the auspices of the Hurst Park Syndicate Limited, formed expressly for the purpose, the original, unenclosed Hampton site was extended onto nearby meadowland to create an enclosed course befitting a Flat racing licence. Thus, Hurst Park staged its first National Hunt fixture in March, 1890 and its first Flat fixture a year later.

In 1913, Hurst Park was famously the scene of an arson attack by two suffragettes, Kitty Marion and Clara Giveen, who were subsequently charged with causing damage worth £10,000, tried, found guilty and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. From 1939 onwards, Hurst Park was home to the Triumph Hurdle, which was transferred to Cheltenham in 1965, three years after the closure of Hurst Park, and is now a Grade 1 contest run on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival. Hurst Park remained a popular venue until its closure, but its owners ultimately decided ultimately decided that they could make more money from property development, rather than horse racing, on the site.

Not to be confused with the horse of the same name, an eight-year-old gelding trained by Lawrence Mullaney, the Beverley Bullet, or Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, is a Listed, five-furlong race, run at Beverley Racecourse in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Inaugurated in 2004, the Beverley Bullet is open to horses aged three years and upwards and, even in its relatively short history, has been won by one or two horses that have gone on to victory at the highest, Group One level. The 2011 winner, Tangerine Trees, won the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp on his very next start, while the 2016 winner, Alpha Delphini won the Nunthorpe Stakes at York two seasons later.

The five-furlong course at Beverley is idiosyncratic insofar that it is on the rise throughout, making it a test of stamina as well as speed, particularly when the going is soft. Furthermore, the supposedly ‘straight’ course features a right-handed dog-leg which, in turn, creates the most pronounced draw bias, towards low numbers, in the whole country. Indeed, seven of the last ten winners of the Beverley Bullet were drawn in stall four or lower; the other three winners, Tangerine Trees in 2011, Take Cover in 2018 and Dakota Gold in 2020 were drawn 9, 9 and 8, respectively.