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The curtain has been called on one of the most riveting careers of recent times.
I remember watching him as a hurdler and thinking that he was screaming for a fence. My thoughts were vindicated in the Arkle where he earned me one of my biggest wins as a gambler. Since then, he’s been a mainstay at the top of the sport and a favourite of mine. I’m sure others have their own stories of a magnificent horse.
A wonderful end to a wonderful career. May he enjoy a long and happy retirement.
Well said BH, wonderful warrior of a horse. Can’t say I ever got him right myself. Backed him ante-post for the Champion Hurdle, going effortlessly before something went wrong… Could easily have been a Champion Hurdler as well as Champion Chaser had he kept sound in the early years.
Connections deserve credit for not being afraid to try different trips. How many Champion chasers run at 3m on soft ground?
Right time to retire. It wsn’t a great race as Grade 1’s go and didn’t need to be anywhere near best after market principles went out. But it was worth it to see the old boy go out with a victory.
Happy retirement Sizing Europe.
Value Is EverythingBrilliant stuff. The emergence of Sprinter Sacre should not allow us to forget what a brilliant Champion Chase winner Sizing Europe was. Perhaps we were lucky that he was amiss in Katchit’s Champion Hurdle, as it allowed us to enjoy Sizing Europe the chaser.
From 2 to 3 miles, he was an electric jumper. Even though 3 miles was perhaps stretching him, he still had enough class to test Kauto Star and plenty of other good horses. For a moment, I thought Sizing Europe was going better than anything at Cheltenham this year, so it’s fantastic to see him do this instead.
It’s one of those lovely feel-good results.
Yes it was super to see him win even if I backed against him.
It is horses like Sizing that make NH racing so goodExactly right. The sort of horse that makes NH racing so very special. A wonderful way to bow out. The racing world will be quite a bit emptier without him, and also Tidal Bay who also retired this week. Oh the memories!
He was a wonderful superstar. It’s a thoroughly deserved retirement, he had nothing more to prove, and I’m delighted that he retires sound from NH racing.
If his back hadn’t gone at the second last in Katchit’s Champion Hurdle they would be putting up statues to Sizing Europe all over Ireland & England
Irish Champion Hurdler
Arkle
Irish Arkle
QM Champion Chase
Tingle Creek
Irish Champion Chaser
9 Grade 1s
8 Grade 2s
2 Grade 3sNow that’s a career
Talk of retirement may be premature, it has not been decided yet and owner and trainer have not discussed it.
Talk of retirement may be premature, it has not been decided yet and owner and trainer have not discussed it.
If they want to finish on a win as stated, one would have thought this was the time although clearly the horse would love to go on racing by what we saw yesterday.
I was there yesterday and the crowd really got behind him from before the second last. It was lovely.
SHL
Sizing Europe got the roar of the day yesterday in Punchestown, it was great to be there to see the old boy show his juniors how a top two miler gets it done. My favourite memories of Sizing are the battles with Big Zeb and Golden Silver over the years, in what was a really competitive era for two mile chasers in Ireland.
Talk of retirement may be premature, it has not been decided yet and owner and trainer have not discussed it.
The owner said on ATR that he’d retire.
tbh The way Chapman put it to Potts there was no other answer he could give but to retire SE there and then.
Hope he is retired, but wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a rethink.
Value Is EverythingSounds as if he, like Tidal Bay is a horse that thrives in a racing environment, hence the [slight] reluctance to retire him. I’m ashamed to say that, at the time I thought his back injury in the Ch H was just an excuse but boy have I been proved wrong over the years. Good to see TB, Big Zeb and SE safely retired [although I never thought I’d be able to say that about Big Zeb who I feared for at the start of every season..and race].
Looks like the goodbyes were premature.
http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/article/465/9385496/sizing-europe-set-for-return-to-training
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
We don’t want another Dorans Pride on our hands, fatally killed at Cheltenham 10+ years ago. I don’t understand why connections of Sizing Europe won’t let the horse finish its racing career on a high.
We don’t want another Dorans Pride on our hands, fatally killed at Cheltenham 10+ years ago. I don’t understand why connections of Sizing Europe won’t let the horse finish its racing career on a high.
Those were precisely my initial thoughts.
On second thoughts though, horses can die any time and at any age. The likes of Best Mate and Synchronised weren’t exactly bound to their pensions when they lost their lives and (touch wood!) Sizing Europe could very well meet his maker at home after picking up a nasty strain or tripping up over a molehill.
I was amazed that Kauto Star was sent to the well again after being pulled up at Punchestown but as he proved at Haydock, he still had a remarkable zest for the game and if a horse would rather see action on the course than trudging around the paddock then it would actually be in the horse’s best interests to continue racing.
All the same, whilst the news of Sizing Europe returning to the track would have excited me a few seasons ago, I have to admit, it will be a sense of trepidation for all of his remaining races. But so long as he’s enjoying it and he comes home safe then best of luck to him.
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