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Great to hear that good old Coole Cody was retired after (fittingly) the 20f handicap at Cheltenham today.
Nice interview with Evan Williams on Racing TV.
Nine wins, four over hurdles for Michael Blake before he really made his name chasing after switching to Williams. Won five chases including the valuable November 20f handicap chase in 2020, where his front-running style became his template. Fourth in the Plate at the 2021 festival (behind The Shunter), he won the December 20f Grade 3 at Cheltenham at the end of that year too.
Made up for that 2021 Plate defeat by winning that race at the 2022 Festival, beating Imperial Alcazar by over six lengths for jockey Adam Wedge.
Won another big prize when beating Saint Calvados in a match for the (Grade 2) 1965 Chase at Ascot in November this season, he returned to the festival for the Plate again this year, only to be swallowed up by Seddon – and six others – but only by 11 lengths last month.
Starting chasing rated 125, got up to 152 at his peak. A regular at the two-and-a-half mile chase handicaps series at Cheltenham in the last three seasons, it’s good to see him going out in good shape, aged 12.
Thanks QF, I enjoyed reading this recap of Coole Cody’s career. He was a wonderful performer who earned an amazing £345k. That surge to an unlikely victory in the 1965 Chase was one of the most memorable moments of the current season for me.
The two and a half mile chases at Cheltenham will definitely be poorer for his absence in the autumn.
Wishing Coole Cody a very long and happy retirement.
They done right by him, brought him back for the flat run, but he finished lame and after discussions with vet and owners and trainer. They decided it was the best thing to do for him
VF x
Does anyone know what’s happened to Regal Encore? Says on the BHA website he left training on 24th February but I’ve not seen anything official about his retirement.
It’s poor if a noble servant like Regal Encore has retired without any mention at all.
Again, the sport is crap at basic communication. Why the BHA can’t use it’s press office to declare every notable retired horse – well, if they don’t who will? It’s another easy win and looks good to do so! Why wouldn’t they? Exasperating.
Couldn’t agree more QF.
Also VF’s comments on Buzz. Some may have been tempted to write off his first run after injury and give him another run but they decided to do right by their horse.
Also retired Fusil Raffles and The Hollow Ginge now on non racing agreement list
Vf x
Re Regal Encore, it’s absolutely exasperating. Why has there been no news from the BHA or connections? And this type of thing happens time and time again.
Where the sport is under ever-intensifying scrutiny, those that lead and work in it should be celebrating the careers of its stars and highlighting that they are going on to good post-racing lives. This type of communication should be happening regularly too – there are numerous horses on this thread whose retirement deserved fanfare, yet they have often just been a name on a list that hardly anyone looks at.
Back to Regal Encore…
Looking at the Facebook page of Anthony Honeyball’s stable, in fairness to them they are often good at giving updates on their horses. For example, there is a lovely tribute to Jepeck from when he was retired recently, which is exactly as he deserved. They were also quick to update on Sam Brown’s wellbeing after his horrible fall at The Chair in last weekend’s National.
As for Regal Encore, there is a post from 21 February about him “enjoying the Dorset scenery”. Someone has commented “I didn’t know he had been retired”, which has not been responded to. It’s all a bit odd.
Good posts Marlingford, thanks for engaging with my original point and making it more eloquently than I did.
I know it’s a different (and much bigger) industry, but there was a lot of publicity around the retirement of a 26-year-old footballer called Nick Anderton yesterday.
Who?
Yes, exactly.
Anderton had a journeyman career at Blackpool, Barrow, Carlisle and his latest club, Bristol Rovers, retiring at 26 due to ill health (cancer) after about 200 appearances. The point being, he was no superstar, but still his story was on the BBC website, all over social media, his club and former clubs paid tribute to him etc. Link at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65348031.
In racing terms, he’d have been rated 115 and probably won a Class 4 novice race and maybe got placed in a decent C3 handicap somewhere along the line. That’s not to denigrate his real football achievements or any horse’s similar racing achievements. But it is to explain the respect that a sport should offer.
Maybe the Racing Post should have a Retirements section in their News section of their website?
Someone visited the stables a couple of days ago and took a picture of him so he’s still there.
Hopefully JP takes him at his retirement yard in Ireland
https://twitter.com/valeriacoots/status/1648739382617047083?s=46&t=yBxYn5Ih7kYRhJK9iwiRGw
Good posts overall and I’m glad that Regal Encore finally got his deserved retirement.
Kalashnikov has returned from France and now retired after aggregating tendon injury. He will be going in the show ring route in retirement
VF x
Thanks vf, I really appreciate your updates on this thread. You do a much better job than the BHA!
Time To Get Up was a Midlands National
winner, and yet another horse whose retirement deserves some wider mention and recognition.He was hotly fancied for the Grand National after his Midlands win, but never made it to the big race. His sole experience of the Aintree fences was a rather muted affair when he finished a tailed off 11th and last in the Grand Sefton Chase in November 2021.
Time To Get Up never won again after his big day at Uttoxeter, though he was a very respectable third in the same event the following year. He only ran 16 times in total, and his busiest season was 2022-23, though the best this yielded was 5th place in the West Wales National on what proved to be his final start.
Wishing Time To Get Up a long and happy retirement.
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