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I’ve been hooked on jump racing for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is going to the old bookies in St Andrews with my dad. It was hidden away behind a wall and down steps and I remember the extel blowers on the wall. It’s now a house called the hurdles.
My earliest race memories are watching those great hurdlers at Cheltenham in the late seventies. I also have vague memories of Ben Nevis’s national Katie and National day soon came to rival Christmas day as my favourite day of the year.
So in answer to your question Bachelors there was no moment for me, just a lifelong passion.
Ps, did anyone else create racecourses with their toys or make up fake commentaries using the racecards in newspapers? Oh, just me then
When I was quite young I had about thirty different coloured marbles each of which I named after a horse and pretend-raced around my nan’s flat, jumping them over things like the stretchers (horizontal support element joining the legs) of wooden chairs!
Strangely enough, I think the race that kindled my enthusiasm for racing, was run the year before I
was born. I was a kid brought up in Glasgow, and not the healthiest when I was a nipper, with a chest
that sounded like a squeeze box with a hole in it. I used to get shunted off to my Gran in Aberdeen,
apparently something to do with the sea air or some old chestnut like that. Probably from the age of
about 6 or 7, I would spend many weeks or months at a time, just me and my Gran, I have fond memories
of my childhood there. My Gran was a horsey woman through and through, and she told me the story, many
a time, that as she walked up the street, her neighbours would shout “who’s going to win the Derby
Jessie”. Her reply that particular year was “King says Never Say Die” (I should say, to make sense of
that, that her name was Jessie King). Of course, a certain young Mr Piggott strode off with the race
that year at a handsome 33/1. It was the way she would tell the story, the pride and enthusiasm in her
voice. My Gran was quite a stout woman, and barely five foot tall with her hands in the air, but she
would seem to gain a further foot when recalling that day.She was a courageous woman, I suppose very typical of her era, brought up a pile of kids herself when
she lost her husband in the war, took on various jobs all at the same time to make ends meet and was
fiercely proud. I heard her tell that story (and others) to many a soul, and it didn’t diminish in any
way to me regardless of how many times I heard it. It became, in effect, her war cry for many a trying
time in life “King says Never say Die”. We spent many a happy Saturday following the racing, and the
wrestling of course….she hated that Jackie Pallo.I was caught hook line and sinker from then on, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for the
pleasure it has brought me over the years
Sitting next to my dad watching the racing on TV, especially the jumping, started me off. Picking Highland Wedding, the winner of the Grand National (when I wasn’t as old as the horse) gave my interest a boost, and later that year my parents took me, at my request, to Brighton races. Next year we went to the Epsom spring meeting. And the year after, and then to a few other courses.
I thought nothing could be more exciting than Crisp’s Grand National. I was really hooked, and as patriot1 said, National day was the best day of the year.
I didn’t exactly make a racecourse toy, but I created my own racing game by drawing steeplechase courses and each horse moved along however many tenths of an inch a roll of a dice came up with. If it landed on the line of the fence it was a faller. Perhaps I should see if John Hales will buy this idea.
Sitting next to my dad watching the racing on TV, especially the jumping, started me off. Picking Highland Wedding, the winner of the Grand National (when I wasn’t as old as the horse) gave my interest a boost, and later that year my parents took me, at my request, to Brighton races. Next year we went to the Epsom spring meeting. And the year after, and then to a few other courses.
I thought nothing could be more exciting than Crisp’s Grand National. I was really hooked, and as patriot1 said, National day was the best day of the year.
I didn’t exactly make a racecourse toy, but I created my own racing game by drawing steeplechase courses and each horse moved along however many tenths of an inch a roll of a dice came up with. If it landed on the line of the fence it was a faller. Perhaps I should see if John Hales will buy this idea.
You could to be on to something here
I used to create a course round a monopoly board(so probably resembling Hereford) with fences and hurdles made out of lego and the monopoly pieces were the horses. Happy days.
When I was a child we went on holiday to Yarmouth and the caravan site was right next to the racecourse and us young ones managed to find a hole in the fence to crawl through to watch the horses thundering by!!
I will never forget that sound!!
For me Sebastian iv winning the 78 Scottish National got me started then Tied Cottage winning the Irish National again made me think how much I loved racing but Corbiere was the first horse to have a whole pound of mine on at 13/1 in the 83 National that made me think the game was easy…How right I was.
Lovely story, Graham. I suspect Never Say Die would have been Jessie’s motto even if racing never existed.
Lovely story, Graham. I suspect Never Say Die would have been Jessie’s motto even if racing never existed.
Thanks Joe, and you’ve got her spot on. It might be a well used old adage, but they truly broke the mold when
they made herCool as funk responses. All have been a pleasure to read.
The neurotic pedant in me feels the need to point out that while the example I provided was as recent as 2011, Horse Racing has been my sport since 1993 when I were nine year old. The time between 1993 and 2011 was an affair based on an autistic obsession and the constant spectre of gambling. Love is a strong word for me and as such, I use it incredibly sparingly. When I witnessed Kauto Star’s resurrection, I felt actual love. Spiritually speaking, the material nothing I won that day was infinitely greater than the shitloads of currency I obtained after Kauto won his first Gold Cup (my biggest ever win as a punter who’s lost numerous tenancies on horses).
But yeah. Thanks everybody for feeding this thread and a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all on TRF :)
Ps, did anyone else create racecourses with their toys or make up fake commentaries using the racecards in newspapers? Oh, just me then
I used to assign names to toy cars and have them run as per the fall of playing cards.
The green and white cement mixer = Sibton Abbey
The Mini with criss-cross patterns on the roof = Romany King
The toyota = Party Politics
My kid brother’s Camaro = Dr Rocket
The white and blue Jaguar XJR = Musthaveaswig
The pink hatchback = Cavervillahow
The white and black beetle = Superior FinishThere were a few others but time has eroded those most vital of memories. I do remember that while I let Dr Rocket win the occasional race, Party Politics was somehow impervious to the random fall of cards.
There are many facets to horse racing as there are to a diamond. So whichever way one looks at it, there’s always something that shines to get the attention.
And so, when I tap into my subconsciousness, my first recollections of horse racing were seeing crosses and scribbles on the racing pages of the Daily Mirror in the early 70’s. Of course, I was too young to know what such doodles were all about but did put 2 + 2 together and worked out that it happened every Saturday afternoon when Dad was watching horses on TV. Curiosity led to fascination and I was hopelessly drawn to horses battling it out on a track. One of my first vivid memories was seeing some poor horse taking a crashing fall at a huge fence … turned out to be Andy Pandy falling at Becher’s in the 1977 Grand National! I also recall a horse named One In A Million winning all the time and hearing my Dad talking about how great Night Nurse was. Throughout that period, I was intrigued by horses that had race records that were something like – 212111. Oh and the unmistakable voice of Peter O’Sullivan resonated supreme.
Towards the end of the 70’s, fascination turned to addiction and the horse responsible for it was Silver Buck. I absolutely adored this horse and would wait eagerly for him to run. Imagine my excitement when he crossed swords with Night Nurse … and won!
By that time, my love for horse racing was taking root and spent many fine days competing with my Dad to see who’d get the most winners … even though I didn’t bet in those days. Still, I helped him get an extra few quid in his wallet!
The brilliance of Wayward Lad. Shergar’s Derby. Silver Buck’s Gold Cup. A brilliant 2 year old named Horage. The rise of Desert Orchid. That phenomenon called Dancing Brave. Yep, I fell in love
I was taken to the Derby by my father, on a trip organised by his employers, in 1980. I was eight years old and fell in love with the colour and excitement of the racing instantly.
I nearly mentioned Tied Cottage myself Gord, my first favourite horse, along with Flame Gun. I still remember Tied Cottage “winning” the 1980 Gold Cup, I was bloody hyper lol
A topical question for me, as I’m not sure I would have discovered horse racing at all if it hadn’t been for my uncles insistance on putting the TV on for the King George during our family Boxing Day get-togethers.
Of course, being the late 80s this meant we were watching Desert Orchid, and what a treat it was to see him every year. He became a family favourite and so started my interest.
Essentially 2 things.
Anything to do with Night Nurse from the mid 70s onward. A truly golden era of hurdling followed by a brave effort in becoming the first to do the Champion Hurdle / Gold Cup double. I shouted myself hoarse that day, and could never forgive Little Owl thereafter.I got a friend’s dad to put a bet on Little Owl for me.
Value Is EverythingFor me Sebastian iv winning the 78 Scottish National got me started then Tied Cottage winning the Irish National again made me think how much I loved racing but Corbiere was the first horse to have a whole pound of mine on at 13/1 in the 83 National that made me think the game was easy…How right I was.
Couldn’t find anyone to put a bet on Corbiere for me.
Like you Gord, I was certain he’d win that year.Value Is Everything
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