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Nijinsky winning the King George.
He must’ve been thought of as unbeatable after that.
Remittance Man winning the 1992 Champion Chase. He was up against Waterloo Boy who was in fantastic form that year and Katabatic the previous year’s winner. Great race.
On the flat it would either be Zilzal beating Polish Precedent in the 1989 Queen Elizabeth II stakes or Dayjur winning the Nunthorpe in record time.
Races I would loved to have been present at.
1964 Cheltenham Gold Cup (Arkle usurps Mill House )
1965 Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe ( Sea – Bird pulverising the greatest Arc field ever assembled).
1971 2,000 gns ( Brigadier Gerard defeating Europe’s top two juveniles of 1970, Mill Reef and My Swallow)
and one before I was born – Tudor Minstrel’s 8 lengths 2,000 gns win.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
I think it’d have to be the 1973 Grand National. That, the 1977 Derby and the 1986 Gold Cup will always be special for me for different reasons.
really low key stuff, but would love to see a horse trained by phillip hobbs called gallic (or gaelic) prince winning the midlands grand national at uttoxeter, can’t remeber what the year was but can remember going to the races and having a tenner of my y.t.s. money on it, think it beat a horse of jenny pitman’s called abba lad. would love to see a recording of the race but it was pre terrestial coverage.
would also love to go back to being at the champion hurdle when alderbrook won having backed him antepost at 25s
really low key stuff, but would love to see a horse trained by phillip hobbs called gallic (or gaelic) prince winning the midlands grand national at uttoxeter, can’t remeber what the year was but can remember going to the races and having a tenner of my y.t.s. money on it, think it beat a horse of jenny pitman’s called abba lad. would love to see a recording of the race but it was pre terrestial coverage.
It was Gallic Prince, who won one of the last Midlands Grand Nationals to;
– bear the name title the Jack Carter Memorial Gold Cup as well as the Midlands National one,
– be run after Aintree (here: 22/4/89) rather than three or four weeks before it.
Full result:
UTTOXETER
22nd April 1989
Going: good to soft1 Gallic Prince P J Hobbs, Peter Hobbs, 12-1
chased leaders, led 3 out, stayed on well2 Abba Lad Mrs J Pitman, M Bowlby 9-1
always prominent, led 24th until 3 out, stayed on3 Mithras T A Forster, P Scudamore 12-1
chased leaders, hampered after 12th, stayed on one pace from 3 out4 Rausal T N Bailey, B Dowling 20-1
behind, ridden 14th, stayed on from 3 out, never nearer18 ran. Glenside Jerry 5-2F.
I trust this brings back a few memories. Gallic Prince finished 13th in the following year’s Seagram Grand National under the amateur Jose Simo. Abba Lad tried his luck in it in 1991 and pulled up, whilst Mithras and Rausal had failed to complete in the 1989 National.
I’m sure some recording of this race exists – wouldn’t Racetech (in whatever name / form it existed in back then) have made one? Sourcing one might cost a few bob, though.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
1989 was the year [the only year] that I went to the Grand National. I remember standing by the elbow and Sergeant Sprite fell and he was led over to stand near to us. We didn’t even know who had won… I remember seeing The Thinker gallop past us. Soon after that I started going to Uttoxeter [my local track] all the time. There was a little man who used to stamp your hand when you transferred from one place to another, he used to say I was like a mother hen with her chickens, of courses it’s a lot smarter now…
If I could go back in time, would love to have seen Seabiscuit and War Admiral!
Would also like to have seen Mill reef
Over the jumps though would love to have seen Arkle, Golden Miller, Red Rum and Desert Orchid progressing into a champion.
Hopefully when i’m all old I can say to people well I saw Kauto Star!
I would go back to the 2nd of March 2004.
The time would be about 3.31pm, and I would be on my machine, desperately trying to lay Ballinger Ridge at 1.01 on Betfair
Mike
The ’86 GC. A special race that still sends shivers up the spine when I watch it.
Failing that, the 2001 National. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the TV, to have been there would have been surreal.
I too am a Just So fan (and staying slowcoaches in general,) i was too young to bet so asked my Dad to go to the bookies and put 50p ew for me on Minniehoma and Just So but he couldn’t be @rsed – the rest is history! If only I’d gone down to the bookies I looked old enough to get served beer at the time so I’m sure putting a bet on would have been no trouble. If I could go back in time though I’d take a couple of grand with me and put it on the forecast…
mine would be to be at ayr in the mid seventies for the scottise national, we both backed ASTRAL CHARMER at 66/1 and watched it at home as it proceded to lead from the start, try to run out then won. my father is no longer with us but id love to go back and watch it with him just once,chipmunk
mine would be to be at ayr in the mid seventies for the scottise national, we both backed ASTRAL CHARMER at 66/1 and watched it at home as it proceded to lead from the start, try to run out then won. my father is no longer with us but id love to go back and watch it with him just once,chipmunk
I remember that well … a lovely piece of front running. He blazed a trail and established a massive lead. I was expecting him to get caught early into the straight but, somehow, he kept up the gallop. There was a ‘catch me if you can’ thing about the race that made it kinda gripping to watch. The pack did close on him but he still won by a few lengths. Great stuff!
Was Astral Charmer ridden by Maurice Barnes?
Who trained him, C H Bell is in my mind but I’m nowhere near sure.
mine would be to be at ayr in the mid seventies for the scottise national, we both backed ASTRAL CHARMER at 66/1 and watched it at home as it proceded to lead from the start, try to run out then won. my father is no longer with us but id love to go back and watch it with him just once,chipmunk
Astral Charmer’s win was in the 1981 Scottish National. It is one of my favourites as well, plus quite a few other people’s judged by its appearance in the Racing Post’s “100 Greatest Races” poll conducted earlier this year. Henry Bell owned and trained, J L Goulding rode, and the partnership came in at the rewarding odds of 66-1.
Further reminiscences thereon at http://thatracingblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/all-thats-missing-is-stuart-maconie-if.html
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
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