Category: Horses

Who owned Dawn Run?

Dawn Run etched her name, indelibly, into the annals of Cheltenham Festival history when, in 1986, she became the first and, so far, only horse to complete the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double. Trained by the late Paddy Mullins in Co. Kilkenny, Dawn Run was ridden to her two greatest triumphs by Jonjo O’Neill, but only after her regular partner Tony Mullins was ‘jocked off’ by owner Charmian Hill on both occasions.

At the age of 62, Hill, a.k.a. the ‘Galloping Granny’, had ridden Dawn Run on her first three starts, before being deemed too old to continue riding by the Turf Club. Nevertheless, she pulled no punches when it came to riding arrangements for her horse; Paddy Mullins made no secret of the fact that, ferocious as Dawn Run was, she was still easier to handle than her owner.

After missing most of the 1984/85 season through injury, Dawn Run took her career record to 3-3 over fences by winning at Punchestown and Leopardstown in December, 1985, before heading to Cheltenham for the Holsten Distributors Chase in January, 1986. Sent off at 4/9 favourite, Dawn Run made a mistake at the final open ditch and unseated Tony Mullins, leading to speculation that, despite winning 15 races on the mare, he would be replaced for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Sure enough, he was and the rest, as they say, is history.

Which horse holds the course record for the Derby?

Which horse holds the course record for the Derby? The record for the widest winning margin is the history of the Derby still belongs to Shergar, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who sauntered to a 10-length victory in 1981. However, the one-sided nature of that renewal, which led commentator Peter Bromley to exclaim, ‘You need a telescope to see the rest!’, resulted in a rather pedestrian winning time of 2:44.21.

To avoid any confusion, the fastest winning time in the history of the Derby was the 2:26.60 clocked by Dante in 1945, but that was in a substitute race, known as the ‘New Derby’, which was run at Newmarket, rather than Epsom, during and immediately after World War II. On the recognised Derby course at Epsom, which features steep undulations, a tricky, left-hand turn at Tattenham Corner and a pronounced camber in the home straight, the faster winning time was the 2:31.33 recorded by Workforce in 2010. Trained, like Shergar, by Sir Michael Stoute, Workforce also won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp later in his three-year-old campaign and

received the Cartier Champion Three-Year-Old Colt Award in 2010.

How many races did Pretty Polly win?

Notwithstanding the hosiery brand of the same name, ‘Pretty Polly’ is probably most recognisable to modern British audiences from the Pretty Polly Stakes, a Listed contest for three-year-old fillies, which is run on the undercard of the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. The titular Pretty Polly was a prolific racehorse in the early years of the twentieth century, winning 22 of her 24 races between 1903 and 1906, including the so-called Fillies’ Triple Crown – 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and St. Leger – in 1904.

Bred and owned by Major Eustace Loder, a.k.a. ‘Lucky Loder’, and trained by Peter Gilpin in Newmarket, Pretty Polly failed to start favourite just once, on her racecourse debut at Sandown Park on June 27, 1903. On that occasion, she won the British Dominion Two-Year-Old Plate by an official margin of 10 lengths – twice that was reportedly more accurate – and did not taste defeat until the final start of her three-year-old campaign.

After winning 15 consecutive races, Pretty Polly was sent to Longchamp in October, 1904, to contest the Prix du Conseil Municipal. However, a rough Channel crossing, a long railway journey, bottomless ground and the absence of her regular jockey, William ‘Billy’ Lane, through injury conspired against her and she was beaten into second place. She would be beaten just once more, in the Gold Cup at Ascot in 1906 on her final start, but in between times, won half a dozen more races, including the Coronation Cup at Epsom in both 1905 and 1906.

Which was the shortest-priced winner of the Derby?

Which was the shortest-priced winner of the Derby? The Derby was inaugurated in 1780 and, in 242 runnings since, the shortest-priced winner of the Epsom Classic was Ladas, who was returned at odds of 2/9 in 1894. These super short odds make the idea of slot machine spins at HellSpin casino nz seem irresistible. Owned by Archibald Philip Primose, Lord Rosebery – who became Prime Minister in March, 1894 – and trained by Mathew Dawson, Ladas was unbeaten in four starts as a juvenile and won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on his reappearance as a three-year-old.

A facile success in the Newmarket Stakes, over a mile and a quarter, later in May, 1894, only served to shorten his price for the Derby, in which he faced just six rivals. The pick of the opposition appeared to be Matchbox, whom Ladas had beaten 1½ lengths in the 2,000 Guineas, so the fact that he was sent off at prohibitive odds was no real surprise.

However, the Derby did not turn out to be the ‘cakewalk’ it appeared on paper. Ridden, as usual, by John ‘Jack’ Watts, Ladas was held up in the early stages, but tackled the leader, Matchbox, in the home straight. He looked, for a stride or two, as if he might win easily, but Watts had to apply pressure to master his rallying rival and, although Ladas eventually forged ahead in the closing stages, his winning margin over Matchbox was identical to that in the 2,000 Guineas.

Having won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Ladas was sent off favourite to win the third, the St. Leger at Doncaster. He once again faced Matchbox, but having taken the measure of his old rival, was run down in the final furlong and beaten three-quarters of length by 50/1 outsider Throstle.

 

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