Which was the greatest National Hunt horse ever?

Although there is still no objective system for doing so, establishing which was the greatest National Hunt horse ever is, perhaps, a little easier than the greatest Flat horse ever. The likes of Golden Miller, Red Rum, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star all have claims but, in terms of superiority over his contemporaries, there can be only one, Arkle. Arkle was awarded the highest Timeform Annual Rating ever, 212, and was so far ahead of every other steeplechaser in training that the Irish Turf Club was forced into deploying two handicap systems, one when Arkle ran and one when he didn’t.

Trained in Co. Dublin by Tom Dreaper and ridden, throughout his career, by Pat Taaffe, Arkle won 22 of his 26 steeplechases between 1962 and 1966. In that four-year period, his winning tally famously including a hat-trick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in 1964, 1965 and 1966, but also the Irish Grand National, King George VI Chase, Hennessy Gold Cup (twice) and Whitbread Gold Cup. He never fell or unseated rider and, in all that time, was beaten by just half a dozen horses. Mill House, whom he beat by 5 lengths in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1964, and by 20 lengths the following year, was hitherto considered the greatest steeplechaser since Golden Miller.

What is an open ditch?

What is an open ditch? In National Hunt racing, an ‘open ditch’ is one type of obstacle that must be negotiated during a steeplechase. In fact, the Rules of Racing stipulate that, in any steeplechase, one in six obstacles must be an open ditch.

An open ditch consists of a standard, plain fence, the bottom of which is extended to accommodate a shallow ditch on the take-off side. The fence is constructed in the same fashion as any other plain fence – that is, of birch, or birch and spruce or any other approved material – and must stand at least 4’6″ high on the take-off side. However, the presence of the ditch increases the width, or spread, of the obstacle, such that it presents a more challenging test of jumping ability and agility than a plain fence alone. Steeplechasers must be nimble enough to approach the take-off board closely enough to stretch over the ditch and clear the fence successfully.

Perhaps the most famous open ditch in British National Hunt racing is the ‘The Chair’ at Aintree, which is jumped as the penultimate fence on the first circuit of the Grand National. The Chair stands 5’2″ high and is preceded by a 6′ wide ditch on the take-off side, making it the tallest and broadest obstacle on the Grand National Course.

Which was the last horse to complete the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double?

Which was the last horse to complete the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double? The 2,000 Guineas, run over a mile at Newmarket in late April or early May, and the Derby, run over a mile and a half at Epsom in June, constitute the first two legs of what is still referred to as the ‘English Triple Crown’. However, the third and final leg, the St. Leger, run over a mile and three-quarters at Doncaster in September, has fallen out of favour in recent years. In fact, the last horse to win all three races was Nijinsky, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1970.

Since Nijinsky, just three horses have completed the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double. In chronological order, they were Nashwan, who also won the Coral-Eclipse and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, in 1989, Sea The Stars, who also won the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, in 2009 and Camelot in 2012. Camelot raced just four times as a three-year-old, but also won the Irish Derby and went agonsing close to winning the Triple Crown, when failing by three-quarters of a length to overhaul Encke in the St. Leger.

What is a ‘seller’?

‘Seller’ is a shortened form of ‘selling race’ or ‘selling plate’ and refers to a type of horse race immediately after which the winner is sold, or at least offered for sale, at public auction. Selling races are run on the flat, over hurdles and over fences and can be level-weights contests, with allowances for age and gender, or handicaps. It would be fair to say that selling races are at the bottom end of the market in terms of quality and prize money, but the entry fees are correspondingly low.

Of course, the owner(s) of the winning horse may lose it at the subsequent auction and any other horse in a selling race, regardless of its finishing position, can be bought for a price specified by its trainer beforehand. However, the winning bid must be at least £3,200 and possibly more, at the discretion of the racecourse authorities, and the winning owner(s) can bid in the auction; if successful, the winning horse is said to be ‘bought in’. Of course, it is still possible that the winning bid his higher than the prize money. Nowadays, as an incentive for owners to run their horses in selling races, racecourses can retain commission up to a maximum of 10% of the sale price of the winning horse.

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