Wayward Lad

[prince regent]

<br>a bit late onto this

i think wl was  a marvelous horse a pleasure to watch him jumping but he was better on flat tracks there were so many  decent horses around in his era

i also think as pipe has been mentioned that the dickensons were marvelous trainers   much superior to pipe

 i think dawn run was a marvelous horses whom a fatal tragedy  took so much away from what could have been learnt about her

 i agree with mh  in my opinion she was the actual rather then the moral winner of the gc  she is crabbed unfairly

in all (or nearly) sports females are given different treatment to the males the  mare allowance was not a factor

  but dawn runs victory takes nothing away from wayward lads record  allthough as someone pointed out he  was never rated a champion

  whether night nurse was better or  not than  dawn run (he was)  it really has nothing to do with   the argument  as to whether dawn run  was or wasnt  the moral winner (he wasnt he won fairly)

 and  ian the horses u list as being better than dawn run (which i agree with)   were also better than wayward lad.

 finally some postscripts to other horses mentioned

l,escargot   had the unusual distinction of being awarded the title of united states champion jumping horse

i also take the oppotunity to quote from clivex<br>

I also the belive that best Mate is right up there now

  do i misunderstand you  or are u trying to  insinuate  that best mate  is somewhere near to arkle (or flyingbolt)  in his achievements  if so forget it  dont even go there

wayward lad in summary was a fine horse and a great credit to his connections  a pleasure to watch<br> <br>  

<br>

[clivex]

No im not trying to say that Best Mate is another Arkle

But hes, at the very least, starting to prove that he is the best since Desert Orchid at least

And his record speaks for itself.

And I do hope that there will be a horse that is as good as Arkle one day. Chances are it will happen….

Thats the fun of the game (and will be nice to stop hearing about a horse form nigh on 40 years ago too…)

[Soba]

<br>And I do hope that there will be a horse that is as good as Arkle one day. Chances are it will happen….

Thats the fun of the game (and will be nice to stop hearing about a horse form nigh on 40 years ago too…)

Keep taking those tablets Clivex ;)

But seriously for a second…… i will never everrrrrr get bored or fed up of hearing about how good he was. He was a legend so how could i? Another forty years down the line mate and they will still be talking about him and they will still be looking for ‘another Arkle’ I’ll lay ya it aint gonna happen. :biggrin: <br> But yea i too would like to witness something special in my lifetime like yourself…….. as you say that’s part of the fun.

[clivex]

the results stand for themselves and he was certainly extraordinary.

But…doesnt stop me being alittle bopred with hearing his named dropped endslessly by poeple who were barely born when he was running (not saying that is the case with you of course…i am sure you are old)

Rather like me going on about Stanley Matthews or Fred Trueman. They were greats…but i cannot realistically relate

[Soba]

Me…OLD????? well i never….. *insulted!* <br> I wasn’t around then mate, but i have it on first hand info that he was quite a good horse;)

But your point is taken for sure, i just don’t agree with it:biggrin:  

 Bored by Arkle?…….. i need a drink.

[cormack15]

Interesting debate surrounding Dawn Run. It very much depends on how you view things really. If you rate her on ability alone then she does, as Ian has pointed out, fall short of the very best at both two miles over timber and three miles two over the bigger obstacles. However, she is revered not for her ability alone. Her toughness, bravery and, in particular, her versatility combined to  make her extremely popular with many racegoers and her wonderful achievement in winning the two great championship races should not be underestimated. It is a rare champion hurdler who makes the transition to fences at all, never mind winning the Blue Riband event of the discipline. Her speed meant that, to these eyes anyway, she would in all likelihood have been a serious contender for the QM Champion Chase had she been aimed in that direction.<br>Her untimely demise, as is the case with many rock stars, has also added to the ‘legend’ and ensured that her memory will burn ever more brightly in our collective consciousness.<br>So, in terms of pure ability, yes, she fell short of the best. But judged on other characteristics she was a truly great and memorable racemare who is deserving of her place in the history of the sport.<br>Much the same can be said for Wayward Lad although, like several other grand steeplechasers, his best distance may well have been two and a half miles and the absence of a true championship test at that distance has meant that his merit, if not his popularity, is perhaps somewhat distorted.

(Edited by cormack15 at 11:17 pm on Nov. 4, 2003)

[Mully]

Cormack that is the best message I have read for some time. You have covered the whole debate from every angle and reflect my very own feelings about Dawn Run. My first visit to Cheltenham was to see the 1987 Gold Cup, but how I wish it had been the previous year. :(

[Ardross]

For Wayward Lad fans – footage of his last race – a win in the 1987 Whitbread Gold Lsbel Chase ( now the Betfred Bowl ) is now up on Youtube – and how magnificently the old boy jumped that day as ever .

<a href="http://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAj98SHrjM“>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAj98SHrjM

[Author]

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