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On the flat it would have to be Dayjur jumping the shadow in the 1990 Breeders Cup sprint. He had overcome all the difficult stuff like a wide draw, running on dirt & around a bend for the first time. In the straight he had the race won yet in the final strides he jumped the shadow and lost all momentum. I was absolutely gutted and I still cringe when I watch the replay now. Without doubt one of the greatest sprinters that has ever raced, certainly a contender for the greatest Europe has had.
Over the jumps it’s when Well Chief fell at the second fence in the 2007 Champion Chase. I know it sounds over the top but as soon as he hit the deck the rest of that years festival was ruined for me. Had he stayed on his feet I’m in no doubt he would have won the race that eluded him throughout his injury plagued career. Probably the best 2m chaser never to win the Champion Chase. His huge weight carrying victory in the 2005 Victor Chandler Handicap Chase & his tough battles with the great Moscow Flyer & Azertyuiop show that.
Willie Carson’s ride on Bahri in the 1995 QEII to beat Ridgewood Pearl springs to mind. His decision to take the horse to the wide outside of track for the better ground was a race winning manoeuvre against a superior rival in Ridgewood Pearl.
No matter how bad he is as a pundit for the BBC it shoudn’t be forgotten that the guy was a real top class jockey.
Favourite racecourse
SalisburyFavourite Race
Flat – The Arc NH – Champion ChaseWhat Sort of races do you prefer
Group 1’s on the flat & Grade 1 Chase & Hurdle racesFavourite ever jockey
Flat – Willie Carson NH – Richard DunwoodyFavourite ever horse
Flat – Dayjur NH – Remittance Man/Well ChiefWhat do you like about racing
The excitement of watching top class racehorses competing against each other in the big races.What don’t you like about racing
Injuries/FatalitiesFavourite ever owner
Sheikh Hamdan al MaktoumFavourite ever trainer
Flat – John Gosden NH – Nicky HendersonFavourite type of bet
Win singlesFavourite ever race commentator
Simon HoltFavourite other sports
Football, Tennis, Golf, Formula 1, AthleticsBest race ever seen
2004 Tingle Creek Chase
Moscow Flyer vs Azertyuiop vs Well Chief
It doesn’t get any better than this race with the three best 2m Chasers of the last 20 years producing a thrilling finish at Sandown.I’ve gone for Henry Cecil’s horse Ajaan EW at a big price. He ran pretty well in a couple of big Handicaps last season (2nd Chester Cup, 5th Cesarewitch) so I thaught I’d take a chance on him running into a place at 28-1.
It looks like he’ll go for the QEII next and then on to the Breeders Cup for either the mile or the Classic.
The QEII could be a brilliant race with Makfi vs Canford Cliffs vs Rip Van Winkle. Hopefully they all turn up.
Looking further ahead to the Breeders Cup, Coolmore usually like a runner in the Classic so at this stage I would have thought Rip would be the one they’d aim at that race. He’d certainly be better prepared to run well at the Breeders Cup this year than he was last year but whether he’d handle the Dirt surface is open to question.
Tataniano reminded me a bit of Azertyuiop last season with his fast accurate jumping from the front. He was really impressive on his last start at Aintree and also earlier in the season he jumped very well around Cheltenham. I think he’ll be a major player in the 2m division and at around 8-1 he’s good value at this stage for the Champion Chase.
During the 1997 flat season you could make a strong case for Singspiel being the best horse in the world. He won the Dubai World Cup, the Coronation Cup in a canter & also won the International at York. His only defeat that year was in the King George when the ground turned soft due to heavy rain on the day of the race. In my opinion he would have beaten Swain, Helissio & Pilsudski that day had rain not arrived.
Unfortunately, he missed his intended final run at the Breeder’s Cup due to injury.
I’m very sad to hear of his passing, he was a truely world class racehorse.
Well Chief (obviously)
Montelado
Waterloo Boy
Dato Star
Florida Pearl
Gloria Victis
Carvill’s Hill
Large ActionI hope Well Chief has a long and happy retirement.
It’s a shame that he never won the Champion Chase but you only have to look back through his form against Moscow Flyer & Azertyuiop to know that he was better than most Champion Chase winners.
A lot of praise was heaped on Denman after he won the Hennessy off a mark of 174 but Well Chief put up a weight carrying performance every bit as good as that, if not better, when he won the Victor Chandler off a mark of 176.
I just really hope that we see the best from both Kauto Star & Denman tomorrow. If Denman can gallop and stretch his rivals like he did in 2008 it will be fascinating to watch how Kauto Star & the rest cope in that situation.
The problem is I have a bad feeling that one of them (most likely Denman) won’t run to form and the race will be a bit of an anti-climax.
Well Chief is nowhere near the horse he was but I think he still retains enough ability to run into a place at a big price. Bar his fall in the 2007 Champion Chase his record around Cheltenham is fantastic.
I compiled a video of Gloria Victis and put on youtube a while ago. It shows the closing stages of his wins in the Feltham Chase & Racing Post Chase. Plus the closing stages of the Gold Cup.
Here’s the link for anyone interested.
Dayjur’s 5f track record at York which he set in the 1990 Nunthorpe has lasted for 20 years and I wouldn’t be surprised if lasts a lot further into the future.
He’s certainly the best sprinter I’ve seen and arguably the greatest 5f/6f horse Europe has ever had.Here’s the great horse in action.
With the injury problems he’s had I didn’t think I’d ever see Well Chief line up for a Tingle Creek Chase again.
David Pipe has done a fabulous job with the horse and I really hope he wins on Saturday.With the sad loss of poor Exotic Dancer, it looks like Tony McCoy will be free for the Gold Cup. If both Denman & Kauto Star make it to Cheltenham then McCoy would be the obvious choice to pick up the spare ride on whichever horse Ruby rejects.
I know I’m in the minority in thinking that Well Chief could win the Champion Chase.
For me, his reappearence win in the Connought Chase showed that he retains enough of his old ability to be a major contender come March, as long as he avoids injury. Moscow Flyer’s victory in 2005 as an 11yo gives me hope that Well Chief can overcome his age as well. In the end it may too much to ask of the old horse with Master Minded in his prime but I still hold out hope!
When it comes to talk about Master Minded and Well Chief I don’t think the latter gets the respect that he deserves to be honest. I’ve read a lot over the past year or two about MM being in a different league to WC. I don’t agree with that at all when you look at what WC achieved back in 2004/2005. People seem to forget that as a 6yo this horse won the Victor Chandler Chase carrying top weight off a rating of 176, giving 20lbs to Thisthatandtother. With all the praise Denman has been getting (and rightly so) for his weight carrying performance in the Hennessy, I think it needs to be remembered that WC produced as good performance back then if not better.
