Which were the top five Derby winners, according to Timeform?

Which were the top five Derby winners, according to Timeform? Timeform ratings first appeared in ‘Racehorses of 1947’, published in 1948, and ever since have provided a matter-of-fact means of comparing racehorses from different generations. Of course, it can be argued that ratings of any description, Timeform or otherwise, are simply a matter of opinion, but the findings make for interesting reading all the same.

According to Timeform, Sea-Bird (145), who won the Derby on his only start in Britain, in 1965, remains the second highest-rated Flat horse since World War II, behind only Frankel (147). Trained in France by Etienne Pollett and ridden by Australian jockey Pat Glennon, Sea-Bird justified favouritism at Epsom in effortless fashion, beating subsequent Irish Derby winner Meadow Court by two lengths, despite being heavily eased in the closing stages.

The 1971 Derby winner Mill Reef (141) was beaten by Brigadier Gerard in the 2,000 Guineas, but proved himself the outstanding middle-distance horse of his generation by also winning the Coral-Eclipse, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Trained by Ian Badling and ridden by Geoff Lewis, Mill Reef travelled enthusiastically at Epsom and could be called the winner some way from home; at the line, he had two lengths to spare over Linden Tree.

Shergar (140) and Sea The Stars (140) share third place on the all-time list, according to Timeform. In 1981, Shergar, trained by Michael Stoute and ridden by Walter Swinburn, was sent off the shortest-priced Derby favourite since Sir Ivor in 1968. He turned Tattenham Corner still firmly on the bridle and stretched clear to win, eased down, by a record ten lengths. In 2009, Sea The Stars – who never won any race by more than 2½ lengths – was more workmanlike in his comfortable, 1¾-length defeat of Fame And Glory in the Derby. Nonetheless, he was described, quite rightly, as ‘one of the greats’ by winning jockey Mick Kinane immediately afterwards.

Likewise, Reference Point (139) and Generous (139) share fifth place. Trained by Henry Cecil and ridden by Steve Cauthen, Reference Point was sent off 6/4 favourite for the 1987 Derby and made most of the running, eventually coming home 1½ lengths ahead of Most Welcome in a course record time. Four years later, Generous, trained by Paul Cole and ridden by Alan Munro, was only fifth choice in the betting market, at 9/1, but was always travelling strongly and stormed clear to win by five lengths and seven from Marju and Star Of Gdansk.

 

Who are, or were, the most successful Flat jockeys in the United Kingdom?

Of the five most successful jockeys in the history of Flat racing in the United Kingdom, two are deceased and two are long retired, but all five had, or have, riding careers spanning at least four decades. As such, they are well-known and much-respected figures.

The most successful of all was Sir Gordon Richards, who was the first jockey to be knighted and rode 4,870 winners between 1921 and 1954, thereby setting a world record. Richards was champion jockey in 26 of his 34 seasons and, in 1943, rode 269 winners, thereby setting a British single-season record that would stand until broken by Sir Anthony McCoy in 2002.

Second on the all-time list comes the late Pat Eddery, who died of a heart attack in November, 2015, after a long, well-publicised battle with alcoholism. Between 1969 and 2003, Eddery rode 4,633 winners and was champion jockey 11 times in Britain and once, during a spell as stable jockey to Vincent O’Brien at Ballydoyle, Co. Tipperary, in Ireland.

Next up is Lester Piggott who, to readers of a certain age, requires little or no introduction. Nicknamed ‘The Long Fella’, due to his height and idiosyncratic riding style, Piggott was a force majeure in British Flat racing for most of his career. Between 1948 and 1994, he rode 4,493 winners, including an unprecedented 30 British Classic winners. Like Pat Eddery, he was champion jockey 11 times.

Younger than Piggott and older than Eddery, but a direct contemporary of both as far as his riding career was concerned, Willie Carson rode 3,828 winners between 1962 and 1996. He was champion jockey five times between 1972 and 1983 and rode 17 British Classic winners.

Last, but by no means least, comes Italian-born Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori, who rode his first winner on British soil in June, 1987, at the age of 16, and is still going strong nearly three-and-a-half decades later. Dettori has been champion jockey just three times, in 1994, 1995 and 2004, and has 17 British Classic wins to his name. As of March, 2021, he had ridden 3,286 winners and, having add just 41 to that total in the rest of the year, clearly has some work to do if he is to make further progress up the all-time list.

What does wind surgery on a racehorse involve?

Since January 19, 2018, racehorse trainers in Britain have been required to declare when any horse in their yard, which has previously raced, has undergone any form of wind surgery. For the sake of simplicity, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) does not require the type of wind surgery to be made public, so any horse having its first or second run since a procedure to improve the function of its upper airway is denoted by the small letter ‘w’ next to its name on the racecard.

Wind surgery can be a confusing subject to anyone other than a qualified veterinary surgeon, but the BHA rule is specifically intended to cover epiglottic surgery, tie back, tie forward and hobdaying operations and soft palate cautery. Epiglottic surgery may be required to correct a condition known as epiglottic entrapment, when structures in the larynx, or voice box, become abnormal and create breathing difficulties. Likewise, a hobday, or tie back, procedure involves removing the left vocal cord, or permanently suturing it, to prevent obstruction of the airway.

A tie forward procedure, on the other hand, pulls the larynx upwards and forwards, so that it prevents displacement of the soft tissue at the back of the mouth, a.k.a. the ‘soft palate’; soft palate cautery, as the name suggests, involves burning the surface of the tissue to stiffen it, so that it does not become unstable during strenuous exercise.

Who rode Harbinger in the King George?

According to Timeform, Harbinger remains the co-eighth highest rated Flat horse since ratings were first published in 1948. Indeed, his Timeform Annual Rating of 140 – albeit adjudged, effectively, on just race – was the equivalent of that achieved by Shergar, Dancing Brave and Shergar.

A son of Dansili, whose progeny typically progess extremely well, Harbinger won two of his five starts as a 3-year-old, including the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, but did not reach the peak of his powers until his 4-year-old campaign, in 2010. That season, he reappeared with an impressive, 3-length win in the John Porter Stakes at Newbury, followed up in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester and completed a hat-trick in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Having been ridden, exclusively, by Ryan Moore on his first eight starts, Harbinger was passed over by his regular jockey on his first attempt at Group 1 level, in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Perhaps understandably, Moore, who chose to ride his Derby-winning stable companion, Workforce, instead, with French jockey Olivier Peslier picking up the spare ride on Harbinger.

Some ‘spare’ it proved, too. Sent off at 4/1 second favourite behind Workforce, Harbinger was held up fourth of the six runners in the early stages, but was travelling best of all turning for home and when he ranged alongside his toiling rivals at the two-furlong marker the race was all but over. In the closing stages, he cruised clear to beat the Irish Derby winner, Cape Blanco by a record 11 lengths.

 

1 … 50 51 52 53 54 … 146