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Dreadful news. One of my all time favourites. R.I.P. Denman
https://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/paul-nicholls/2008-cheltenham-gold-cup-winner-denman-put-to-sleep-paul-nicholls-060618-9.htmlSad news coming out of Ditcheat this morning regarding the mighty Denman.
He gave me some unforgettable days, filled with excitement, anticipation and marvel. He was the perfect example of what makes horse racing great.
Condolences to connections, he was a credit to you all.
RIP, Denman.
What a sad surprise. 18 is far too young, but maybe his heart wasn’t the best one anyway.
Rest in Peace Denman!He looked terribly lame even to my untrained eye when he paraded at Cheltenham a couple of years ago and they said at the time he was in full retirement, so I’m not surprised to hear this. Having said that, the news has still left me in floods of tears. Of the great horses from that ere he was, in my eyes, the one that most epitomised all that was great about NH racing. Rest in peace, Denman. What memories you have left us with.
I’ve not enjoyed any races more than his second Hennessy and Gold Cup: fabulously adept and attritional steeplechasing
Thanks very much Denman
His second Hennessey win was the one for me after the heart problems suffered the year before. Amazing performance giving over a stone and a half to the decent chaser and stablemate What A Friend and then beating him on the run-in. This was seemingly after what looked to me like he was reluctant to start. He made another good fist of it a year later trying to win a third.
RIP Denman – I’m sure you will try to serve it up to Kauto again in the 2019 Horse Heaven Gold Cup.
Fortunate enough to be there to see Denman’s magnificent Hennesseys. Have a particular respect for horses that reach greatness (Timeform 180 or more) in a handicap. Denman was a great in every way.
RIP big fella.
Value Is EverythingHe was one of those horses you so looked forward to seeing run. An absolute bull
of a horse who was awesome attacking his fences. As Drone has already mentioned,
his Gold Cup win was superb, but his final win in the Hennessy Gold Cup in 2009
was on a par with the final run of Sprinter Sacre in the Celebration Chase at
Sandown. Both had me on the edge of blubbering. I wont forget the old boy.
Condolences to all the connections, it must have been a hard decision to take.My favourite NH Horse of the last 30 years.
Better put down than living in misery but still a sad, shocking piece of news.Shocked to see his name here today as had no idea that he was poorly but reading the above posts can see that he had been struggling for a while and better this way than years of crippling pain.
Like Moe the tears are falling as I write this, he just touched so many of our hearts.
I know Kauto Star will be kicking his heels to have you back by his side beautiful boy and I can see you running and jumping those Golden Gates to join him once more…
RIP Denman .. We will never forget you .. a horse of a lifetime
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...I never QUITE worked out what colour he was. I know he was technically a liver chestnut, but it seemed to vary from chestnut to almost black. I remember thinking at Cheltenham that I would never see him again, just as I felt when I saw Dessie there many years ago. My favourite book, when I was a child, was called Ghost Horse, and it was about a legendary mustang who disappeared but was often seen galloping across the sky; it left such an impression on me that I actually believe it in some way, especially when a great horse leaves us.
One of the few horses that really touched my heart. Was at Cheltenham for all his races and will never forget them. Never thought I would feel such sadness at the loss of a horse.
The epitome of what we all desire from a top, top staying chaser – from the RSA and the raw power of that GC, that showed him at his absolute best, through to his last GC. Both Hennessy’s are right up there in my memory, though for different reasons. The first was the confirmation that here was a real beast of a staying chaser; the second was the weight carrying performance of recent times, and the performance that really showed he was back. For me, though, it was the last GC that summed him up the best. I will never forget the approach to the third last. The sight of those top staying chasers going at it hammer and tongs, and none of them wanting to lose, was NH racing at its very best. He may not have won, but boy oh boy did he enjoy that race. The reception he got when he came back in was as if he had won.
I loved hearing about him in his retirement too. The pictures of him out hunting as well as team chasing showed a very happy horse, even if one who was a tad erratic in the brakes department! Thoughts with Charlotte Alexander too – who has lost both Conti and Big Den in the same year. It’s a shame he didn’t have longer back at Ditcheat in full retirement but, sad though it is, it’s been good to hear that he was allowed to go out when and as he did. It’s always a hard decision to take but it sounds absolutely the right one.
Absolutely gutted to hear this news. One of the horses that got me in to racing. His gold cup win was relentless and merciless and the sort of performance that usually leaves a mark on a horse. Denman on the other hand just kept putting in huge performances despite other issues. Absolutely loved him. RIP
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