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"Storm Cat lost a couple of races by taking a disliking to another horse in a race and trying to bite him in the last couple of furlongs."
Shades of another O’Brien horse, David, but of Vincent O’Brien – a horse called Mariinsky. He was nicknamed Jaws.
(Edited by Grimes at 9:48 pm on Oct. 20, 2005)
Yes, rakti is mental. But so was montjeu.<br>Rakti has been a class act and has many MANY group 1s – his need for firm ground wont definitely be passed down through the breeding lines, so there is value there definitely.
Quote: from Grimes on 9:47 pm on Oct. 20, 2005[br]"Storm Cat lost a couple of races by taking a disliking to another horse in a race and trying to bite him in the last couple of furlongs."
Shades of another O’Brien horse, David, but of Vincent O’Brien – a horse called Mariinsky. He was nicknamed Jaws.
<br>Well remembered Grimes ~ Mariinsky was barred from both racing and breeding because of his savage nature, and he mysteriously died of a twisted gut shortly after.
On the subject of well known ‘nutters’ – my own personal favourite mental case was the talented but extremely violently inclined, would-be cannibal Ubedizzy, who raced in the 1970’s. I seem to remember him racing in a muzzle and fighting, a fight he frequently won, with the jockey in order to swing his head around and chew lumps out of whatever horse was alongside.
On the subject of breeding from horses who flirt with the fringes of sanity, the greatest sire of all, St.Simon, was himself more than a handful. Grooming was only possible after the application of a muzzle and required two men, one constantly holding his head. He had a lad who he ‘allowed’ to come into the box but most other personnel were chased out with legend stating that more than one Heath House lad gave up his position rather than attempt to deal with the ever-so-slightly lunatic champion. This characteristic behaviour pattern continued after he went to stud where the use of an umbrella or bowler hat on the end of a stick were frequently employed to keep the outstanding former racehorse and sire at bay.
Despite not only being highly strung but with an unnerving knack of lashing out at all and sundry, St. Simon established himself as the greatest sire of his day and one of only a handful of horses who could credibly be argued as the greatest ever stallion.
His and many other examples illustrate that a nervous and unpredictable disposition is no barrier to success at stud.
Whether Rakti represents value is difficult to say as I don’t know what fee they are planning for him. I would expect him to get his fair share of winners but whether he will get Group 1 performers on a regular basis is another matter, about which any speculation can be no more than idle.
(Edited by cormack15 at 3:01 pm on Oct. 21, 2005)
Yes, I remember the twisted gut, etc, now you mention it, Rory. Though I didn’t know horses could be prohibited from breeding on that basis.
Anyway, there are always imponderables about breeding, are’t there. It’s certainly nothing like an exact science. Rakti could be an absolute ace stallion, or realtively poor. Isn’t it the case that some of the greatest champions have been relatively indifferent sires?
On temperament, another interesting horse is Reference Point.  Well-behaved as a racehorse he turned vicious when sent to stud and was a nightmare stallion to deal with.
I remember Ubedizzy, had a bite out of someone one day at a televised meeting.
He was trained by Steve Norton I think, only just got 5f, needed an easy to win. Tough sod though.
I appreciate this thread is some-what old but wanted to add some imformation.
‘Ubedizzy’ did not turn vicious when he went to stud as quoted by another poster. He was always difficult and his aggression became increasingly worse as his racing career heightened.
He did not bite the fingers off a stable lad in the ‘Runners’ Up’ enclosure in 1978, it was a steward and why The Jockey club banned him from racing in Britain.
The race was at Newmarket and Ubedizzy was beaten into 2nd in a photo finish by ‘Boldboy’ over 6 furlongs in 1978.
The horse was notorious for un-seating his rider at the starting gate and bolting, often covering great distance before being re-captured and returned to the starting gate.
Ubedizzy ran blinkered in order to stop him from his habit of biting any horse that challenged him in the final furlong. His racing tactic was to leave the starting gate and ‘amble’ comfortably for the first two to three furlongs and begin to make ground around the fourth. He would make rapid headway into the final furlong and most results were a heart-stopping photo finish.
His forte was six furlongs but equally as devastating over five.
His track record for bolting and delaying races would see most horses withdrawn not under orders but Ubedizzy got away with holding up many a race. I remember one race where he actually completed the circuit, was captured, returned and went on to win in style.
In 1977, Ubedizzy had his best season and held the record that year for the heaviest handicapped horse winning his final race of the season carrying 16lb extra and coming in at 33-1.
After the savaging of a steward at Newmarket and recieving the ban, he went on to race briefly in Ireland and it was here that he savaged the stable lad. he was returned to britain to be sold at the ‘Newmarket selling stakes.
Hundreds and hundreds of fans turned out to see Ubedizzy at the sale but sadly, not to buy him, merely to see him perform his notorious antics. Ubedizzy did not fail to please the crowds and gave them what they wanted by trying to kick out a brick wall.
He only just made his 8,000 Guienea reserve and was bought for stud. It was then after a thorough vetinary examination, Ubedizzy was found to be suffering from highly painfull warts on the knee’s. It is believed he suffered this condition for many years and the pain would have become increasingly worse as he progressed through his career, heightening in the famous attack at Newmarket. The warts were removed successfully through surgery and he recovered well.R.I.P. UBEDIZZY
MEMORIE’S COME AND GO
UBEDIZZY REMAINSVery interesting stuff Fox. Ubedizzy was an old favourite of mine and very interesting to hear about those warts which may explain all his ‘unusual’ antics.
Very interesting stuff Fox. Ubedizzy was an old favourite of mine and very interesting to hear about those warts which may explain all his ‘unusual’ antics.
Thankyou,..Good to hear that folk remember him. He was a very special horse and a great entertainer.
re ubedizzy.
probably my favourite racehorse ever. the horse that got me into racing, a talented nutter he was. rememberhim winning me money as a 3yo and more memorably backing him e/w in a group 1 sprint at r. ascot under L Piggott and naturally finishing 4th at about 33/1thanks for that info fox.
i think the person who lost his finger thanks to ubedizzy was the nh trainer andy crook i think he was apprenticed to steve nesbitt in the 70’s
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