Category: Horses

Before Tiger Roll and Red Rum, which was the last horse to win the Grand National two years running?

For many owners, trainers and jockeys, winning the Grand National, just once, remains an elusive dream. However, several horses have won the world-famous steeplechase two – and, in the case of Red Rum, three – years running. Of course, the most recent of them was Tiger Roll who, in 2020, was denied the opportunity to attempt an unprecedented hat-trick when the National was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before Red Rum, though, we need to look back to the interwar years, 1936, for the last horse to record back-to-back victories in the National. That horse was Reynoldstown, owned and trained by Major Noel Furlong and ridden, in 1935, by his son Frank and, in 1936, by Fulke Walwyn.

The 1935 renewal was notable for the presence of Golden Miller who, in 1934, had become the first – and, so far, only – horse in history to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same season; sent off 2/1 favourite, Golden Miller parted company with jockey Gerry Wilson at the fence after Valentine’s Brook on the first circuit. Reynoldstown, carrying11st 4lb, jumped well and although challenged for the lead by Thomond over the final two fences, ran on strongly to bear Blue Prince by 3 lengths. In so doing, he set a new course record, 9:20.20, which would not be beaten until 1973.

Despite being sidelined with injury, Reynoldstown returned for the 1936 Grand National and, under 12st 2lb, disputed the lead with Davy Jones from Becher’s Brook on the second circuit. However, he nearly unseated Fulke Walwyn when colliding with Davy Jones at the fifth-last fence and made a bad mistake of his own at the third-last. He rallied gamely to dispute the lead again at the final fence, at which point Davy Jones’ reins came unbuckled and he ran out, leaving Reynoldstown to come home unchallenged.

Aside from Arkle & Flyingbolt, which was the highest rated steeplechaser in history?

Whether or not the Timeform Annual Rating awarded to Arkle (212), or his contemporary stablemate Flyingbolt (210), is accurate remains open to question. Either way, the pair stands head and shoulders – or 20lb, in empirical terms – above any other steeplechaser to grace a racecourse in the last five decades or so.

On the whole, the Timeform Organisation is fastidious about keeping ratings consistent from one generation to the next, precisely so that comparisons can be made without the need for so-called ‘historical recalibration’. The veracity of ratings from the mid-60s aside, it therefore seems reasonable to use Timeform to identify the next highest-rated steeplechaser in history or, at least, in the history of that venerated authority.

The horse in question was Sprinter Sacre (192p), who ran his last race, as a ten-year-old, in April, 2016 but, even at that late stage, was considered likely to improve on his rating by the Timeform scribes. Owned by Caroline Mould and trained by Nicky Henderson, Sprinter Sacre won 14 of his 18 steeplechases, including the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2012 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase twice, in 2013 and 2016. All told, he won nine times at the highest Grade One level and may, indeed, have been better yet, but for being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in late 2013, which ruled him out for the whole of 2014.

Do horses still race on hard going?

Officially, the state of the ground, or going, on a racecourse is described by one of seven descriptions, ranging from ‘heavy’ at one extreme to ‘hard’ at the other. However, British Horseracing Authority (BHA) guidelines suggest that Flat courses should aim to provide ‘good to firm’ going and National Hunt courses should aim to provide ‘good’ – and never faster than ‘good to firm’ – going, wherever possible.

Even allowing for the vagaries of the British weather, it is possible that a long, dry spell can produce going officially described as ‘firm’ or even ‘hard’, especially in the absence of watering. Bath Racecourse, situated high on Lansdown Hill, 780 feet above sea level, is a case in point insofar as it has no watering system and can produce rattling hard going during a dry summer. Under such circumstances – which are virtually unknown elsewhere – underfoot conditions must be monitored to ensure the course is safe for racing.

Of course, Bath Racecourse exclusively stages Flat racing but, for National Hunt courses, if the going is officially ‘hard’, it must be described as ‘hard (unraceable)’ and racing must be abandoned. Thus, while ‘hard’ still exists as an official going description, horses rarely, if ever, race on going faster than ‘firm’ – which, itself, is rare enough on most British racecourses – for welfare reasons.

Are three-year-old fillies eligible to run in the 2,000 Guineas & the Derby?

The simple answer is yes, they are. Although the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby as billed as “colts'” Classics, they are, in fact, open to horses of both sexes, but not geldings.The only proviso is that horses have run at least once and achieved an official handicap rating of 80 or more, or an equivalent level of form, in the eyes of the official handicap. In both cases, fillies receive a 3lb allowance from their male counterparts.

Three-year-old fillies may be eligible to run in the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby but, nowadays, rarely do so. Indeed, the last filly to win the 2,000 Guineas was Garden Path who, in 1944, justified favouritism in a wartime renewal, run on the July Course, rather than the Rowley Mile, at Newmarket. The last filly to win the ‘Derby’ was Fifinella who, in 1916, won a wartime substitute, known as the ‘New Derby Stakes’ also, coincidentally, run on the July Course at Newmarket.

Modern trainers prefer their top-class fillies to pursue the 1,000 Guineas and/or Oaks route, not least because both “fillies'” Classics are restricted to three-year-old fillies only. Notwithstanding funding cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas are worth exactly the same prize money and, although the premier colts’ Classic, the Derby, offers a purse three times higher than the Oaks, fillies have a much better chance of winning against their own sex.

1 … 31 32 33 34