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Nice to finally see Enniskillen’s name on the list. 10 Festival appearances (Punchestown)in a total of 17 races of which he won five.
Happy retirement….
Happy retirement to Faugheen , Douvan and Benie des deux , I know Chapman gets a lot of stick on here but his love for faugheen shows he,s a horse lover and racing fan just like the rest of us , both my brother and father kept telling me the new one would beat faugheen in the champion hurdle …I just remember laughing when Sam started paddling and faugheen hadn’t even got into 2nd gear , he was like Denman if a hurdle or fence got in the way he just smashed through it and kept going , as for Douvan he won loads of races but it’s still a case of what if ….
I remember that race well HDLG.. My wife had passed away in the late February and I went Cheltenham anyway and him winning was the release I needed at the time. Happy retirement Faugheen..
Blackbeard to conquer the World
I loved Faugheen; he was always exciting, speed, power and stamina. Not the most fluent hurdler, but when he met one on a stride he was spectacular, and surely would have run up a sequence of CHs but for injury. Slight regret that he wasn’t straight put over fences after his novice hurdle sequence; maybe a sequence of GCs instead.
Glad he has retired safelyLovely to see a proper announcement about the retirement of three wonderful horses in Faugheen, Douvan and Benie Des Dieux. Faugheen’s comeback as a novice chaser was one of the highlights of the 2019-20 season for me. Douvan achieved too much to be described as a “nearly” horse, but he certainly had his share of injuries and bad luck. Given how fragile he is, it seems a sensible time to call it a day now. Wishing them all long and happy retirements.
Delighted to see that Faugheen will be joining the “Living Legends” at the Irish National Stud. I’m sure he’ll be a popular attraction and have a great retirement.
That wonderful dual purpose performer Verdana Blue has been retired. She is off to be covered at Coolmore, the stallion is yet to be confirmed. She was a top class hurdler on her day and won 9 out of 31 races as well as £341k.
Her biggest win was when beating her stable companion Buveur D’Air in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton in 2018. That race will live long in my memory for the winning jockey Nico de Boinville looking somewhat less than overjoyed at their success. I always did think Verdana Blue was a little underrated, and it seems this included in her own stable.
Wishing her a long and happy retirement.
Wishing The Tin Man a speedy recovery & happy retirement. James Fanshawe tweeted:
“Sadly we had to retire our wonderful old stalwart THE TIN MAN this morning after he was injured on The Limekilns this morning. He has had surgery and is now standing. He will continue to be spoilt and have a home at Pegasus for life. Thank you to
@NEHreferrals
. #superstar”The Tin Man was a real star of racing and will be missed, but I do hope he enjoys himself.
The best things in life are free.
But you can give them to the birds and bees.Great to see old Exitas going out on 2 wins in a week after a long but troubled career during which he suffered 2 potentially life-threatening injuries and was nursed back from the brink. Phil Middleton has found him a nice home on a 100 acre farm where he will be kept active as, apparently, that’s why he wouldn’t settle when they first tried to retire him.
Hoping to see Laurina on this thread (again) very soon. Horrible to see her struggling since she left Mullins. The “mare in foal” effect obviously hasn’t worked
Phil Middleton was interviewed after Exitas won at Southwell. This is how much the horse meant to him:
To people like that racing isn’t a job …it’s life , deserves to have a stable full of horses
Thanks CAS, I was trying to find that clip! Agree HDLG he oozes enthusiasm and love for his horse
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