[Seventy Four]

Terribly sad about Burton Port – one of my big time favourites and a really gutsy horse, who never really, in my opinion anyway, received the credit he deserved for some tremendous performances.

I am really upset that he has not lived to get a happy retirement, as he deserved one, but I know that life is not fair and can often seem so cruel.

R.I.P Burton Port – sleep well old fella.

[Seventy Four]

Extremely sad about both horses, but especially Galley Slave, who was a real favourite of mine and a credit to his connections.

He was a fine looking horse and it is amazing how he retained his enthusiasm for racing after his many appearances, but he was in the form of his life and was on a hat trick bid at Cartmel. At least his connections had the pleasure of him winning 5 hurdle races over the years and being placed many times over.

My sincerest sympathies to everyone associated with both horses – they deserved a much better fate.

R.I.P Galley Slave and Alaplee

[Seventy Four]

Very unlucky not to win a Grand National in my opinion, but a good winner over Aintree’s fences, which always seemed to bring out the best in him.

RIP old boy – you will not be forgotten.

[Seventy Four]

It’s just churlishness trying to suggest that Frankel isn’t one of the best racehorses ever.

Racing is all about opinion – there is no absolute right or wrong – and I am entitled to mine, in just the same way that others are entitled to theirs.

I don’t doubt that many people sincerely do believe that Frankel is "the greatest horse of all time" (whatever that is supposed to mean). I just don’t happen to share that view.

[Seventy Four]

I saw every race the Brigadier ran I’d like to know which performance you think he put up that even comes close to Frankel’s demolition job of Excelebration or Farhh . His King George was not a great race by any stretch of the imagination. His main rival Mill Reef not a miler went on to bigger and better things leaving him to win some pretty poor mile races.

You obviously have forgotten how Sparkler ran him to a head and when he scraped home against Rarity or when he won the Eclipse by a diminishing length topped by Roberto beating him fair and square at York. He did win some races by fair distances but way too often did other finish close behind him. He was tough as nails a powerhouse of a horse but I doubt if he’d have coped with Frankel’s instant acceleration.

The King George he won wasn’t the greatest field but it certainly wasn’t a poor one and his winning time was only 0.37 seconds slower than Mill Reef’s on similar gorund the year before and a mile and a half was not his best trip. As for the Guineas Ian Balding was dumbfounded after it as he didn’t believe there was a horse in training who could beat Mill Reef over a mile let alone easily by 3 lengths with the previous year’s European top rated 2yo colt My Swallow a further 3/4 of a length back in third.

The Brigadier was a stone worse on very soft and heavy ground. It was very soft when he won the Sussex ahead of Sparkler and was heavy ground in the Eclipse and for his first win in the Champion Stakes ahead of Rarity. His defeat by Roberto in the International was totally inexplicable as Roberto had never put up a performance of that quality in smashing the course record before the race and never did subsequently. Piggot actually got off Roberto after a training gallop on him ahead of the race to ride Rheingold who finished 11 lengths behing the Brigadier. Mercer eased him down well before the finish when he knew he wouldn’t win and believed he wasn’t right that day which may have been the case as mucous was found in his nostrils after the race. His owners felt they had run him too soon after the King George in which he had a hard race and lost by far the most weight he ever did after a race. His connections however accepted that on the day he was beaten by a horse that put up a truly exceptional performance.

I find it bizarre you can describe the Brigadier as winning minor mile races as his victories as a 3yo were the 2,000 Guineas, the St James Palace, the Sussex, the Celebration Mile and the QEII and as a 4yo the Lockinge and the QEII which he won by 6 lengths and smashed the old course record by over a second and was imo his best performance over a mile.

Whether you rate Frankel ahead of him is up to you but please don’t do so by denegrating Brigadier Gerard who is one of the greatest racehorses to have ever graced the turf.

Very well said The Brigadier !!!!

I knew someone was bound to rise to the bait when I freely admitted to not worshipping at the court of King Frankel.

All the points which you made were 100% accurate – the Brigadier hated soft ground and his efforts against Sparkler and Rarity were way below his normal outstanding form. Not only that, connections had the guts to try him out at 10 furlongs on very soft ground at the end of his 3 year old career (they didn’t wait till the summer of his 4 year old career), and also had the guts to try him out at 12 furlongs ( a trip he was not really bred for) in a top class race against very decent opposition, in which he extended his unbeaten streak to 15 consecutive races.

His defeat, I think, can be excused on the grounds of his not being well after the race and as The Brigadier has said, Roberto never ever showed comparitive form. What is more, he had Arc winner Rheingold officially 11 lengths behind him but unofficially according to Timeform, it was more like 17 lengths, despite being eased down when it was clear he would not win.

In my opinion, the opposition that Brigadier Gerard faced was far stronger than anything that Frankel has raced against (I wouldn’t put Excalebration in the same league as Mill Reef !)and I am still waiting to see another horse who I could rate anywhere close to the Brigadier.

The Frankel hype is totally consistent with today’s culture of "celebrity" – racing is desperate to have some kind of superstar who is hyped to the skies, despite his racecourse performances not, in my opinion, warranting anything like the adulation that has been showered on him. I am not saying that Frankel is not a good horse – he clearly is – I just do not think he is nearly as good as many people are trying to make out.

There……I’ve said it !!!

[Seventy Four]

I don’t expect my views to meet with much agreement, considering that almost the whole racing community seems to have been brainwashed into believing the Frankel hype. but I thank God this nonsense is now over.

To my way of thinking, he is simply a very good horse at his distance who has beaten everything put in front of him, but I doubt very much the quality of the opposition he has faced (when compared with the great Brigadier Gerard, for example), and I think that connections have been totally unadventurous with him.

No doubt he will go down as "the horse of the century" or "the greatest horse of all time", but to me, that is pure hype designed to boost his stud value.He has never raced beyond 10 furlongs, never raced against a truly international field and never really ever been tested outside his comfort zone, to see what he really would have been capable of.

Good horse yes – greatest horse of all time ? – not in my book.

[Seventy Four]

I see that Carlton House’s connections are falling back on the old "If the race had been run differently, we might have had a different result" excuse, instead of acknowledging that they were beaten by a better horse on the day (in fact, two better horses – let’s not forget Treasure Beach). Anyone could say that about any race ("Well, if my horse hadn’t fallen at the first fence and if the winner had unseated at the last, we might have had a different result !"),so for me, that is a totally lame excuse, designed to cover the fact that their horse was not good enough on the day, in the way that the race was run.

I had no financial interest in the race and never considered Carlton House to be any type of "good thing", and as a staunch Republican, I have to admit that I tired very quickly of the almost total concentration on the Queen’s horse, to the almost total exclusion of everyone else.Anyone watching might have thought that there was only one horse in the race !

For me, Pour Moi showed a very good turn of foot to win and was the best horse on the day. The fact that he was still several lengths behind Carlton House at Tattenham Corner, having gone even wider than the favourite, and still had a few lengths to make up in the last two furlongs, yet managed to win going away, says much for his talent as well as for the tactical ability of his jockey, though Michel Barzalona’s stirrup standing antics so close to the line were astonishing ! Let us not forget that Carlton House still could not get past Treasure Beach, and credit too to the under-rated Memphis Tennessee, who ran a very gallant race and held on well to the lead for so long.

Maybe Carlton House will win a top race one day in a field full of Group 1 winners – who knows ? – he certainly has a top trainer – but I remain to be convinced, although I am not sure that Pour Moi’s tactics would be as suitable in the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe as they were here.

It will be an interesting summer.

[Seventy Four]

I think a case can be made for several this year, but my two against the field would be Imperial Commander and Diamond Harry.

In my opinion, Kauto Star and Denman are past their best (I freely admit to not being a lover of the Nicholls stable particularly), but Imperial Commander was in great form last year, goes well when fresh and simply loves the course.

Diamond Harry put up a cracking performace in the Hennessey and was a very deserving winner, and he too will be fresh for the day, but such is Imperial Commander’s record around Cheltenham (especially when fresh) that I feel he will take all the beating.

Long Run, on paper at least, also has a good chance, but I do wonder if he will be as effective around here as at Kempton. If he is, he might well have too much foot for Imperial Commander, but IC is the one for me !

[Seventy Four]

I have just watched a recording of yesterday’s race and full marks to both Diamond Harry and Burton Port, who pulled well clear of the remaining runners, and deservedly filled the first two places. Both are very promising chasers, and I particularly like Burton Port, only a six year old but a real model of consistency, who never ever seems to run a bad race, despite the odd jumping errors (though never serious enough to bring him down).

I simply do not "get" some people’s obsession with Denman.Even I wouldn’t be churlish enough not to admit that he has been a very good steeplechaser, one of the best around in recent years, but certainly not one of the greatest of all time, as some folk, swept away by the press hype, might have us believe. He was clearly totally unable to cope with the weight concession to his younger rivals, and whilst he ran well, he never (to my eyes at least) looked like winning, and I will be very surprised if he wins another Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. I feel that he is past his best and yesterday, it wasn’t even as if he came close to winning – he didn’t, and was beaten over 15 lengths by the winner.One win in his last eight races also should tell us something.

Whether some people like it or not, I feel that the order in steeplechasing is changing and last season’s novices look like a very promising group of horses,well able to challenge the likes of Kauto Star (who isn’t always the cleanest of jumpers) and even Imperial Commander, who is still my idea of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner next March.

It will be an interesting next few months, and I will be very interested to see what happens.

[Seventy Four]

Here are a few National Hunt horses, who some may remember, and who have never been forgotten by me :

Oregon Trail

– winner over hurdles and had a very successful time chasing in the late 1980’s winning the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham

Racoon

– no – not the sprinter we know today, but the Irish bred chaser trained by Fulke Walwayn in the late 1960’s, and early 1970’s. Won at Ascot over 3 miles beating Gobion Goblin by 10 lengths, but always a chancy jumper and was killed in that season’s Grand National after falling at the 3rd fence (broke his neck). I was heartbroken and in floods of tears.

Tenterclef

– very useful 2 mile chaser in the early 1970’s and a fine big horse – won the Mildmay Novices Chase at Aintree, ridden by Barry Brogan and trained by Peter Ransome – won 11 chases in all, but sadly, broke a leg at home after winning his final start at Sandown and had to be put down.

Happy Ranger

– started on the flat with either Paul Davey or Michael Jarvis, but didn’t win – perhaps not an easy horse to train as he had long spells on the sidelines – but won 2 steeplechases at Chepstow and Cheltenham and finished 7th in Red Rum’s 1977 Grand National, running a fine race.I really liked this horse.

There are many many others, too numerous to detail in full, so here is a short list :

Persian Camp
Border Mask
Border Incident
Into View
Arcturus
King Kong
Royal Marshal II
Kinloch Brae
Freddie
Cherry Traces
Barnard
Domacorn
Fearless Fred
Salvador III
Coral Diver

and many others…………

[Seventy Four]

Wow – now this could be a very long list, but it is a wonderful thread and brings back so many names that I remember once seeing them written down.

Most of the horses who stick in my mind are the not the fastest ones on four legs – indeed some of them never won a race, but I still liked them very much and have always had a very soft spot for the underdog. I don’t expect many people to remember any of these horses, so don’t worry if you can’t :

Flat

Cantique

– owned by Mrs Harry Middleton and trained by Peter Nelson, and later by Bill Marshall – placed six times on the flat 1969-71, but sadly never won a race – turned over at odds of 1/2 in the St Catherines Stakes at Newbury in 1969, beaten a neck there, after losing her first race to Village Boy at Goodwood by a short head.Later went to stud in Ireland and exported to Colombia in 1975, where she bred a couple of winners. Had her last foal in Colombia in 1982.

Sergeant Sam

– another who could do anything except win in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, owned by Roger Mann, trained by Vernon Cross,placed many times at sprint distances including a heartbreaking short head defeat at Windsor on TV.

Kentucky Fair

– big favourite of mine, owned by John Manley (who now owns Dick Turpin), trained by Barry Hills, and later Paul Cole – winner of 3 flat races, two hurdles and a steeplchase – retired sound in about 1977 and I saw him in retirement in 1990, looking fit and well.

Remand

– trained by Dick Hern – unbeaten as a 2 year old and well fancied for Sir Ivor’s Derby I think in 1968, but injured in finishing 4th. Came back after a lay off to win, but never really the same horse afterwards.

La Lagune

– another from 1968, trained by Francois Boutin (I think) and a very impressive winner of the Oaks by 5 lengths that year, coming to the race unbeaten in three starts, and winning in a canter after being well back at Tattenham Corner. Amazingly never won another race, and I never understood quite what went wrong.

Marisela

– another Francois Boutin filly from the same era,owned by the flamboyant Mexican actress Maria-Felix Berger, and often ridden by Sandy Barclay. Runner-up in three of four starts as a 2 year old, including in the Cheveley Park Stakes behind Waterloo, also 2nd to Waterloo in the One Thousand Guineas in 1972 ? – winner of the Prix de la Calonne at Deauville over 1 mile the same season, beating future Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe winner San San by a head. Later retired to stud

There are a lot more horses who I followed through thick and thin, but the list is endless. NH horses to follow !

[Seventy Four]

I agree totally Mort.

I can never forget that month anyway 15 years ago, as my mother died from cancer shortly before Rummy, and the well-known Hi De Hi Actor Simon Cadell also died from the same cancer as my mother, although in his case at the very young age of 43.

Rest in peace to all three of them, who brought me so much pleasure in different ways.

[Seventy Four]

I was at Ascot on the day when Harbinger won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and whilst it was undoubtedly a very impressive performance, I didn’t leave the course feeling that I had just seen an all-time great.

For me, a great horse is one that proves himself / herself consistently over all types of courses, distances and states of going, and of all the horses that I have seen over the last 40 years or so (on the flat at any rate), the one who epitomised that was the magnificent Brigadier Gerard.

I could not rate Harbinger anywhere close to the wonderful Brigadier !

[Seventy Four]

That is really terrible news, as like you, I had taken great pleasure from this lovely mare’s incredible improvement since switching to racing in California. I think she chalked up something like 11 wins there after leaving Ireland as a maiden 3 year old.

I am very sad to hear this as I was hoping she would have a nice long retirement at stud and produce some winners of her own.

R.I.P. Tuscan Evening – you did not deserve that.

[Seventy Four]

If anyone wants a remarkable horse who made finishing second an art form,who remembers the following filly in the early 1970’s :

Songintheair

Trained by Barry Hills, she finished unplaced first time out as a two year old, then ran second in seven successive races that season.

As a three year old, she began with three more second places to make it 10 in a row, before finishing fourth, then unplaced (if my memory serves me correctly) and finally, on a memorable day at Ayr, she WON over 7 furlongs to break her maiden.

If any horse deserved her day in the sun, it was her – and of course, in recent years, we have had the following who took an age to win after so many second places :

Little John (won point to pointing)
Red Rock Canyon (one of my big favourites – winner in Ireland)
Augustus John (now won three at Wolverhampton)
Seventh Cavalry (now a winner over hurdles at Uttoxeter for Alan King)

I have a huge soft spot for these horses.

[Seventy Four]

Terry Biddlecombe ( probably tongue ‘n cheek ) said Best Mate could have beaten Arkle as, according to him… "Arkle only beat old boats."

An interesting aside. Arkle and Best Mate’s physical statistics were almost exact. Arkle though, like those other great racehorses, Hyperion, Phar Lap and Secretariat, was found to have a larger heart in comparison to others.

Arkle was also himself beaten by a boat – Ferry Boat, to be precise (a decent Irish steeplechaser), who finished second to Mill House in the 1963 Hennessey Gold Cup, and ahead of Arkle.

However, I would never have put Best Mate in the same league as Arkle. I think he beat a very poor lot of chasers (comparitively speaking) to win his three Gold Cups, and although you can only beat what turns up against you, his connections hardly ever ran him in a handicap, whereas Arkle regularly carried huge weights to victory in top handicap steeplechases.

[Seventy Four]

My top three are (in no order) –

Aldaniti … even though I backed Spartan Missile.

Rhyme ‘n’ Reason. Brilliant finish!

Maori Venture. I had mixed emotions with this race because whilst I adored the winner but was absolutely gutted by the death of Dark Ivy.

I am so glad you mentioned Maori Venture, Ghost, because I had the good fortune to meet this horse when he was in retirement, along with his onwer Steve Knight.

I remember his Grand National win in 1987 very clearly, because it was the day my younger sister got married, and the weather where we were for the wedding (in Shropshire) was absolutely appalling. That year, I had backed three in the race ; Maori Venture, The Tsarevich and You’re Lucky (I think that was the third one) and I was anxious to get the result – eventually, I had to ask my brother-in-law if he could find out for me !

My wife and I met Steve Knight and Maori Venture one Sunday morning, when Steve was down near his parents house at Charlton Hawthorne and Maori Venture was kept in a nearby field. It was great getting the chance to chat to Steve all on our own, and to meet Maori Venture up close. He was a lovely horse and very friendly ! Steve told me that they thought that Maori Venture would either love Aintree and do very well or possibly fall at the first fence !

Those were good days and Maori Venture also had two wins in the Mandarin Chase at Newbury to his credit, apart from his great 5 lengths win in the Grand National.

Incidentally, I too was very sad about the death of Dark Ivy in that race – a terrible day for the Gordon Richards stable with the loss of such a popular grey.

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