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Considering the size of his string – probably less than a third of today’s leading NH yards – Bob Turnell certainly had a high percentage of highly rated horses. Seemingly didn’t have the best of fortune at the Festival – Birds Nest was surely better than many Champion Hurdle winners and Summerville broke down in the Gold Cup.
I always loved the front running Ei Ei. A hugely brave horse with a massive white blaze who ran an astonishing 92 times (just checked). He won 16, was 2nd 11 times and 3rd 11 times.
He even led a champion chase at one point, and i cried my eyes out when a distant clear at the final flight he took a fatal fall in his last race. sniff sniff.That was awful wasn’t it? I’ll never forget that. From glory to doom in a couple of seconds.
April Seventh
Early Spring
Bruslee
Derring Rose
Kilvulgan
Birds Nest
Tree Tangle
Summerville
Beacon Light
Cuckolder
Hill Of SlaneAnyone spot the link……….
How could you possibly miss Rondetto (my email address)
Like you I am a huge fan. One of my best days ever was when I went to Cheltenham and never had a losing bet. Summerville topped it off when Andy got off Cuckolder to ride him in the Cathcart if memory serves me well. Saddest day was when he broke down with the Gold Cup at his mercy.how many years did Rondetto run in the National? I had a newspaper cutting that said that he would not get round Aintree because he ‘tends to pitch on landing’ -and was his best placing at the age of 13?? At the same time there was a horse called Out and About who was a front runner….
I always loved Marlborough for no particular reason except i really got into horse racing in my early teens when he was prominent and his tremendous 2nd in the king george to best mate and his RP trophy win was amazing!
Any idea what happened to him or where he may be now?remember Marlboroughs early days when his jumping was so awful; Mick Fitz really sorted him out….lovely horse, probably didn’t get the credit that he deserved at the time…
remember Marlboroughs early days when his jumping was so awful; Mick Fitz really sorted him out….lovely horse, probably didn’t get the credit that he deserved at the time…
Watched him at Newbury at least 5 times and his jumping was still terrible, and that was in his good days too!!
Regardless, he was never given full credit for his career
how many years did Rondetto run in the National? I had a newspaper cutting that said that he would not get round Aintree because he ‘tends to pitch on landing’ -and was his best placing at the age of 13?? At the same time there was a horse called Out and About who was a front runner….
I am not 100% sure but I remember he fell and nearly brought down Jay Trump in this mid sixties. He was then a 9 or 10 year old. I don’t think he ran in Anglo’s national. He was definitely involved in the mellee at the 23rd in Foinavon’s year and Pulled up the year after when Red Alligator won. He finished 3rd to Highland Wedding and I think that was about that. He had a low weight that year but early days he was severely punished having won the Hennessy and finishing in front of Mill House when Arkle broke the Sandown course record.
I can remember Out and About well and Loving Record and Tant Pis, both greys and the crossbelts of Nevil Crump’s Arcturus. It’s funny how some of the less talanted animals stick in your mind
I have read everyones post on here and some of the names bring back great momories.
Peter mentioned Border Incident who I loved to bits.
I am getting on a bit, but would not give up the horses I have seen for anything. They include Arkle, Mill House, What A Myth, Pendil, Killiney, Persian war, Istabraq, Captain Christy, Salmon Spray, Gay Trip, Bula, Sea Pigeon, Dessie of course, Royal Epic(backed him at 50/1) and a lessor known animal called Tepylon who finished 2nd to Corporal Clinger when he was all wrong at Haydock and went on to beat Destiny Bay at Nottingham before geting badly injured during the off season
We all have our favourites in racing but people use the term GREAT very loosely. Unless you actually saw Arkle run you could not begin to imagine how good he really was.
If you can imagine having to give Desert Orchid 16 lbs over 3 miles and being told you have to win by 24 lengths, an do it in a record time, then you will realize what your favorite horse would have to do to be regarded in my book as good as “Himselfâ€Mine would have to be john spearings Run And Skip a gallant front runner always running his heart out but finding one to good, i remember to my horror seeing him entered for the national one year and i think he fell at the 1st, i did not see him around much after that. i have heard he lived a long and happy retirement though. bless him.
I’m quite new to the game, well been into it for about 4 years now. But Kauto star is by far the best horse i’ve ever seen.
It started with a typical, and somewhat ordinary race at Exeter where he fell at the second from last, a right harsh tumbling fall. Then Ruby Walsh hopped back on with no time to get his feet in the stirrups , jumped the last and went on to be in a photo for first place with Mistral De la cour. He came second unfortunately but i remember sitting there thinking "That horse is going onto big things!" and so it went…
It also annoyed me how many people decided to take against him, calling him ‘overrated’, one headline in a paper called him a ‘Blundering Star’ and also said he’d not win the gold cup. I thought it was very unfair, and so stuck by him even more.
Paper never refuses ink mate and some of these colomnist wouldn’t know a good horse if it jumped up and bit them. You probably know more about good horses than they do.
I also read in too many rags that Best Mate was the best since Arkle.
He was the best around at the time but he is best described as the best of a bad lot. He wouldn’t have blown wind up Arkle’s backside.
In fact, I am struggling to try and think of 1 previous Gold Cup winner he would have beaten.
Anything to sell a newspaper
re Tant Pis – my mum who didn’t know a word of French used to say to me ‘Maureen, guess what, theres this horse and he’s called Tant Pissss and because it’s such a rude name they have to call him Tant Peee’….at least with all the French horses running these days our knowledge of other languages has improved somewhat…also about this time was a little mare called Phebu that I was very fond of…….I actually spoke to Willie Robinson at Cheltenham the other year; it was an honour to shake the hand of the man who rode Mill House..
Yes and no, Moe – he’s still immortalised in the name of a May-time Hexham 2m handicap chase to this day, and I’ve heard his named rendered both ways you’ve mentioned, plus one or two more besides!
Heaven help the racing media fraternity if Sedgy ever names a race after Xaipete….
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.
Great to see Bruslee mentioned!! A right blast from the past
Pearlyman
Sabin Du Loir
Celtic Shot
West Tip
Mrs Muck
Carvills Hill
Tipping Tim
Deep Sensation, Martha’s Son and Viking Flagship Aintree 1995?Grand National pedantry forces me to put the record straight about Aintree stalwart Rondetto – he did in fact run in five Nationals, the last as a fourteen-year-old in 1970. He was partnered by Jeff King in four of his five outings in the race, with the only exception being in 1967 when Johnny Haine took the ride.
1965 – fell 26th
1967 – refused
1968 – fell 23rd
1969 – 3rd
1970 – u.r. 3rdHaving watched footage of old Nationals several times over, it seemed that Out And About was a particularly unpleasant ride – in both 1963 & 1964 tearing off like he had a rocket up his backside and taking several liberties with his fences. I’m only familiar with his National record – would anyone be able to fill in the gaps? I’d be amazed if he achieved much success beyond 2m4f.
Back to the subject in question – my favourite horses are too numerous to list, but there are some (from both ends of the spectrum) who I have particular affection for, including:
Hallo Dandy
Lean Ar Aghaidh
Falbrav
Pride of Pendle
Suny Bay
Coomakista
Fiddlers Pike
Selhurstparkflyer
Further Flight
Mr Christie
Tiznow
Mole Board
Like you I am a huge fan. One of my best days ever was when I went to Cheltenham and never had a losing bet. Summerville topped it off when Andy got off Cuckolder to ride him in the Cathcart if memory serves me well. Saddest day was when he broke down with the Gold Cup at his mercy.
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