Category: Horses

Aside from Arkle & Flyingbolt, which was the highest rated steeplechaser in history?

Whether or not the Timeform Annual Rating awarded to Arkle (212), or his contemporary stablemate Flyingbolt (210), is accurate remains open to question. Either way, the pair stands head and shoulders – or 20lb, in empirical terms – above any other steeplechaser to grace a racecourse in the last five decades or so.

On the whole, the Timeform Organisation is fastidious about keeping ratings consistent from one generation to the next, precisely so that comparisons can be made without the need for so-called ‘historical recalibration’. The veracity of ratings from the mid-60s aside, it therefore seems reasonable to use Timeform to identify the next highest-rated steeplechaser in history or, at least, in the history of that venerated authority.

The horse in question was Sprinter Sacre (192p), who ran his last race, as a ten-year-old, in April, 2016 but, even at that late stage, was considered likely to improve on his rating by the Timeform scribes. Owned by Caroline Mould and trained by Nicky Henderson, Sprinter Sacre won 14 of his 18 steeplechases, including the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2012 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase twice, in 2013 and 2016. All told, he won nine times at the highest Grade One level and may, indeed, have been better yet, but for being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in late 2013, which ruled him out for the whole of 2014.

Do horses still race on hard going?

Officially, the state of the ground, or going, on a racecourse is described by one of seven descriptions, ranging from ‘heavy’ at one extreme to ‘hard’ at the other. However, British Horseracing Authority (BHA) guidelines suggest that Flat courses should aim to provide ‘good to firm’ going and National Hunt courses should aim to provide ‘good’ – and never faster than ‘good to firm’ – going, wherever possible.

Even allowing for the vagaries of the British weather, it is possible that a long, dry spell can produce going officially described as ‘firm’ or even ‘hard’, especially in the absence of watering. Bath Racecourse, situated high on Lansdown Hill, 780 feet above sea level, is a case in point insofar as it has no watering system and can produce rattling hard going during a dry summer. Under such circumstances – which are virtually unknown elsewhere – underfoot conditions must be monitored to ensure the course is safe for racing.

Of course, Bath Racecourse exclusively stages Flat racing but, for National Hunt courses, if the going is officially ‘hard’, it must be described as ‘hard (unraceable)’ and racing must be abandoned. Thus, while ‘hard’ still exists as an official going description, horses rarely, if ever, race on going faster than ‘firm’ – which, itself, is rare enough on most British racecourses – for welfare reasons.

Are three-year-old fillies eligible to run in the 2,000 Guineas & the Derby?

The simple answer is yes, they are. Although the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby as billed as “colts'” Classics, they are, in fact, open to horses of both sexes, but not geldings.The only proviso is that horses have run at least once and achieved an official handicap rating of 80 or more, or an equivalent level of form, in the eyes of the official handicap. In both cases, fillies receive a 3lb allowance from their male counterparts.

Three-year-old fillies may be eligible to run in the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby but, nowadays, rarely do so. Indeed, the last filly to win the 2,000 Guineas was Garden Path who, in 1944, justified favouritism in a wartime renewal, run on the July Course, rather than the Rowley Mile, at Newmarket. The last filly to win the ‘Derby’ was Fifinella who, in 1916, won a wartime substitute, known as the ‘New Derby Stakes’ also, coincidentally, run on the July Course at Newmarket.

Modern trainers prefer their top-class fillies to pursue the 1,000 Guineas and/or Oaks route, not least because both “fillies'” Classics are restricted to three-year-old fillies only. Notwithstanding funding cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas are worth exactly the same prize money and, although the premier colts’ Classic, the Derby, offers a purse three times higher than the Oaks, fillies have a much better chance of winning against their own sex.

Which was the first horse to run in the Kentucky and Epsom Derbies?

Which was the first horse to run in the Kentucky and Epsom Derbies? The first horse to run in the Kentucky and Epsom Derbies and, indeed, the first British-trained horse to run in ‘The Race for the Roses’, was Bold Arrangement, owned by Anthony and Raymond Richards and trained, in Newmarket, by Clive Brittain. Brittain was renowned for his adventurous, pioneering spirit and, although often accused of ’tilting at windmills’, became synonymous with high-profile success at home and abroad.

Bold Arrangement was sired by Persian Bold, a smart performer between a mile and a mile-and-a-quarter, including on turf. He won four of his nine starts as a juvenile, including the Group Three Solario Stakes, over 7 furlongs, at Sandown Park, under Pat Eddery. After a modest three-year-old debut at Doncaster in March, 1986, Bold Arrangement headed to Lexington, Kentucky for his first start on dirt, the Blue Grass Stakes, over nine furlongs, at Keeneland. Once again ridden by Pat Eddery, the colt came from way off the pace to finish third, beaten three-quarters of a length.

At Churchill Downs, Bold Arrangement was ridden by Kentucky Derby veteran Chris McCarron, deputising for the suspended Eddery, and sent off at 8/1. After four furlongs, Bold Arrangement was only eleventh of the sixteen runners, but loomed large leaving the far turn and kept on stoutly to finish second, beaten 2¼ lengths, behind Ferdinand. McCarron kept the ride at Epsom a month later but, sent off at 12/1, Bold Arrangement could only manage fourteenth of the sixteen finishers behind controversial winner Shahrastani.

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