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I have heard stories and read that some sires were nasty to say the least. Halo who raced in the 1970’s they say was savage and regularly bit fingers off stablehands. Sire Dynaformer was another who when bred had to wear a muzzle for the safety of the mare. One of Halo’s son’s Sunday Silence also had similar traits.
Yeats tried to kick Patkai with both of his back legs after winning one of his Ascot Gold Cups.
Still at Ascot, I remember Robert Alner’s successful but notably volatile racemare Hops And Pops trying to thin out the opposition before a televised novice chase in March 1994 by kicking lumps out of them at the start. It wasn’t the only time she tried that by any means.
To this day one can still see dangerous kickers equipped with a red ribbon in their tail at Point-to-Point meetings. Typing this, it occurs to me that I’ve never thought to check whether any of Hops And Pops’ numerous Pointing offspring have ever required exhibited the sort of behaviour to require a ribbon!
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Still at Ascot, I remember Robert Alner’s successful but notably volatile racemare Hops And Pops trying to thin out the opposition before a televised novice chase in March 1994 by kicking lumps out of them at the start. It wasn’t the only time she tried that by any means.
To this day one can still see dangerous kickers equipped with a red ribbon in their tail at Point-to-Point meetings. Typing this, it occurs to me that I’ve never thought to check whether any of Hops And Pops’ numerous Pointing offspring have ever required exhibited the sort of behaviour to require a ribbon!
gc
My wife backed it that day as Hops And Pops jumped the remaining runners silly to win, and the Alner mare has been her favourite horse since then. I’ll not tell her the thread is ‘Savage horses’, she would be sure to take offence!
There was a 40 minute delay at the start as one ambulance had gone to Wexham Park with an injured amateur rider from the hunter chase and Carl Llewellyn, on the wrong end of Hops And Pops’s hooves, was carted off in the other emergency vehicle.
And then one of the bookies tried to short change my wife on the return with a Rule 4, though I made damned sure he didn’t. Not a day’s racing we will forget in a hurry!
Rob
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