Category: Trainers and Owners

Which horse was Sheikh Mohammed’s first British Classic winner?

Of course, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai, has owned numerous British Classic winners. They have either borne his own maroon and white silks, which were first registered in 1977, or the royal blue silks of Godolphin, which began its international operation in 1994. The first of them was, in fact, Oh So Sharp who, in 1985, just came out best in a three-way photograph with Al Bahathri and Bella Colora in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, winning by a short head and the same. For the record, the first British Classic winner in Godolphin colours was Balanchine who, in 1994, won the Oaks at Epsom, having previously been beaten the minimum margin in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Trained by Henry, later Sir Henry, Cecil and ridden throughout her 3-year-old campaign by Steve Cauthen, Oh So Sharp went on to find further fame by completing the Fillies’ Triple Crown. Sent off 6/4 favourite for the Oaks, she won easily, by six lengths. Two defeats, by Petoski in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and by Commanche Run in what is now the Juddmonte International Stakes at York, followed, but Oh So Sharp was still sent off 8/11 favourite for the St. Leger at Doncaster in September. She could never quite shake off the attentions of her stable companion Lanfranco or Phardante, but won by three-quarters of a length and a head to preserve her place in history.

How many female trainers have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

How many female trainers have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup? The short answer is three, although those three female trainers are actually responsible for six Cheltenham Gold Cup victories between them. Jenny Pitman, who had already made history by becoming the first woman to saddle a Grand National winner in 1983, wasted no time when repeating the dose in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1984, courtesy of Burrough Hill Lad. She also won the ‘Blue Riband’ event again in 1991, with Garrison Savannah, ridden by her son, Mark.

Just over a decade later, in the wake of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which caused the 2001 Cheltenham Festival to be abandoned, Henrietta Knight saddled Best Mate to a notable hat-trick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He became the first horse since the legendary Arkle, 38 years earlier, to win the race three years running.

Last, but by no means least, Irish trainer Jessica Harrington saddled Sizing John to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2017. Mrs. Harrington, 70, was having her first runner in the race and later joked about ‘beginner’s luck’, despite having previously won the Queen Mother Champion Chase (twice) and the Champion Hurdle.

Before First Flow, what was Kim Bailey’s last Grade One winner?

After he had given 17lb and upwards away to his rivals when recording a game, albeit narrow, victory, on heavy going, in the Castleford Handicap Chase at Wetherby in December, 2020, Kim Bailey described First Flow, who was completing a five-timer, as an ‘extraordinary horse’. However, the Andoversford trainer had further cause for celebration the following month, when the 9-year-old belied odds of 14/1 to win the Grade One Clarence House Chase at Ascot and, in so doing, beat the reigning two-mile champion chaser, Politologue, by 7 lengths at level weights.

Victory in the Clarence House Chase was also notable for the fact that it was the first time in 9,443 days, or 25 years, 10 months and 5 days, that Bailey had saddled a Grade One winner. Remarkably, his last winner at the highest level was Master Oats, ridden by the long-retired Norman Williamson, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1995! To be fair, having won the Champion Hurdle 48 hours earlier with Alderbrook, Bailey was completing the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double, making him the last trainer to do so. Nevertheless, fans of nostalgia might like to know that, at the time, John Major was Prime Minister, a pint of lager cost £1.66 and ‘rogue trader’ Nick Leeson had just caused the collapse of Barings Bank.

Has Bill Gredley ever won a British Classic?

Property tycoon William ‘Bill’ Gredley, who also owns Stretchworth Park Stud in Newmarket, has been an influential figure in British horse racing, under both codes, for decades. Most recently his familiar racing silks – yellow, black and yellow striped sleeves, white cap – were carried to victory by Allmankind, whom he owns jointly with his son, Tim, in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree in October, 2021.

As far as British Classics are concerned, Gredley has won not one, but two, with the same horse. In 1992, the Slip Anchor filly User Friendly, whom he bred and owned, won her first six starts, including the Oaks, Irish Oaks, Yorkshire Oaks and St. Leger. Trained by the globe-trotting Clive Brittain, User Friendly was subsequently beaten favourite in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and the Japan Cup at Tokyo, but was, nonetheless, named European Horse of the Year.

Down the years, Gredley has also tried, and failed, to win the Derby on more than one occasion. In 1991, for example, Environment Friend won the Dante Stakes at York and the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown either side of finishing only eleventh, beaten 41 lengths, behind Generous in the Derby at Epsom. Gredley said later, ‘…he just didn’t fire at Epsom.’ Likewise, Chancellor, who won the Sandown Classic Trial in 2001, was barely sighted behind Galileo at Epsom, trailing in tenth, beaten 15½ lengths.

 

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