Category: Big Races

How many horses have won the King George VI Chase more than once?

Aside from the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the King George VI Chase is the most prestigious conditions chase in the British National Hunt calendar. The King George VI Chase was inaugurated in 1937, 13 years after the Cheltenham Gold Cup (as a steeplechase) but, remarkably, 15 horses have won traditional Boxing Day highlight more than once.

Halloween (1952, 1954) had the distinction of being the first dual winner of the King George VI Chase and also the dubious distinction of being placed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956, but never won the ‘Blue Riband’. Mandarin (1957, 1959), the inaugural winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup, was next up, but the spate of multiple winners, which has continued until the present day, really began in the Seventies.

Pendil (1972, 1973) and Captain Christy (1974, 1975) recorded back-to-back victories, as did Silver Buck (1979, 1980). Next came the first three-time winner, Wayward Lad (1982, 1983 and 1985), who was temporarily deposed, in 1984, by the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Burrough Hill Lad. Desert Orchid (1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990) – who was widely considered a doubtful stayer before his first, 15-length victory – subsequently usurped Wayward Lad as the most successful horse in the history of the King George VI Chase.

‘Dessie’ was followed by a another quartet of dual winners, in the form of The Fellow (1991, 1992), One Man (1995, 1996), See More Business (1997, 1999) and Kicking King (2004, 2005). Then, of course, came the days of five-time winner Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011), whose dominance was interrupted only by another dual winner, Long Run (2010, 2012). Silviniaco Conti (2013, 2014) and Clan Des Obeaux (2018, 2019) continued the tradition of multiple winners in the King George VI Chase and, with 2020 winner Frodon lining up again in 2021, a sixteenth such winner is a distinct possibility.

Is it true that the Derby was originally run over a mile?

The simple answer is yes, it is. The Derby Stakes was co-founded, as a sweepstakes race for three-year-old colts and fillies, by Edward Smith-Stanley, Twelfth Earl of Derby, and Sir Charles Bunbury, Chairman of the Jockey Club, in 1780. The official ‘Racing Calendar’ stated that, on May 4 that year, the inaugural Derby Stakes was run ‘over the last mile of the course’ at Epsom.

Until fairly recently, it was widely believed that the ‘last mile’ referred to a straight mile, extending beyond the current 5-furlong start on a chute coming off Tattenham Corner at the top of the home straight. However, according to official Derby historian Michael Church, the ‘last mile’ actually referred to the last mile of the so-called ‘Orbicular Course’, onto which the Derby was transferred when it was extended from mile to a mile and a half in 1784. Thus, the sweeping, downhill turn into Tattenham Corner did not become a feature of the Derby until four years after the inaugural running. Indeed, it was close to the position of the mile marker on the old Orbicular Course that Jockey Club Racecourses, which owns Epsom Downs, erected a plaque to commemorate the starting point of the inaugural Derby.

Are there standout King George VI Chase Winners?

The roll of honour for the King George VI Chase, which was inaugurated in 1937, reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of steeplechasing talent from Britain, Ireland and France since World War II. Consequently, unless you’re made of stone, rational, impartial comparison of winners from different generations is nigh on impossible. However, Timeform ratings are designed to allow exactly that, so – notwithstanding the fact that they’ve only been available since the early Sixties – they may be the best we can hope for.

Unsurprisingly, the ‘best’ King George VI Chase ever, according to Timeform, was Arkle, whose rating of 121 remains the highest awarded to any steeplechaser. Back in the days when the conditions of the King George VI Chase dictated that he conceded weight all ’round, Arkle won in 1965, trouncing Dormant by a distance and would have probably won again in 1966, but for fracturing the pedal bone in his off-fore during the race.

A direct contemporary of Arkle, by whom he was ultimately overshadowed, Mill House was hailed as the best steeplechaser since Golden Miller when running away with the Cheltenham Gold Cup, as a six-year-old, in 1963. He subsequently beat Arkle, who was receiving 5lb, in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury the following November and followed up in the King George VI Chase. His Timeform Annual Rating of 191 ranks him joint-second of winners of the Boxing Day spectacular during the Timeform era.

Mill House shares his position in the all-time list with the most successful horse in the history of the King George VI Chase, Kauto Star, who won five times between 2006 and 2011. The winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009, Kauto Star was, in the words of trainer Paul Nicholls, ‘once in a lifetime’. With apologies to Cottage Rake, who won the King George VI Chase in 1948, not to mention the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1948, 1949 and 1950, other contenders for the ‘best’ winners include Desert Orchid, Burrough Hill Lad and Long Run.

 

What are the highest rated Welsh Grand National Winners?

Although a prestigious race in its own right, the Welsh Grand National has thrown up its fair share of Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winners. According to Timeform, the three ‘best’ or, in other words, the three highest-rated, Welsh Grand National winners since the early Sixties were Burrough Hill Lad, Master Oats and Carvill’s Hill. Indeed, all three were awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 182 or more, such that they can be considered truly great steeplechasers of the Timeform era.

Trained by Jenny Pitman, Burrough Hill Lad rose to prominence in the 1983/84, during which he won all five starts over fences. After an encouraging seasonal debut, over hurdles, at Nottingham, Burrough Hill Lad justified favouritism in the Welsh Grand National, despite being ridden at 3lb overweight by John Francome. Three months, and three wins, later, Burrough Hill Lad won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, thereby making Jenny Pitman the first woman to saddle the winner of the ‘Blue Riband’ event.

Rated just 1lb inferior to Burrough Hill Lad, Master Oats, trained by Kim Bailey, had already run in the Grand National at Aintree, falling at the thirteenth fence in 1994, before he won the Welsh Grand National later the same year. The race was run on New Year’s Eve at Newbury, rather than Chepstow, but Master Oats proved himself one of the best staying chasers in training with an impressive, 20-length victory over Earth Summit. The following March, it was a similar story in the Cheltenham Gold Cup; he was ridden clear in the closing stages to win by 15 lengths and the same from Dubacilla and Miinnehoma.

 

Unlike Burrrough Hill Lad and Master Oats, Carvill’s Hill never won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, despite being sent off even-money favourite for the 1992. However, his 20-length win, from a high-quality field, which included subsequent Grand National winner Party Politics, in the 1991 Welsh Grand National, under 11st 12lb, was one of the easiest ever seen in the history of the race. Sadly, that proved to be his swansong, but Peter Scudamore nonetheless described him as ‘the best staying chaser I rode’.

 

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