Where, and what, was Hurst Park?

Between 1890 and 1962, Hurst Park was a racecourse on the banks of the River Thames at Molesey Hurst, near West Molesey, in Surrey. Built during the Victorian ‘leisure revolution’, along with nearby Sandown Park, which opened in 1875, and Kempton Park, which opened three years later, Hurst Park was initially a National Hunt venue. However, the layout of the racecourse was soon modified to accommodate Flat racing and staged its first meeting in that sphere just over a year later.

In 1913, Hurst Park survived an arson attack by suffragettes Kitty Marion and Clara Giveen, which gutted the grandstand, and continued to flourish throughout the twentieth century. Indeed, Hurst Park was still a popular venue at the time of its closure but, despite significant opposition, its owners opted for property development, rather than horse racing, on the site.

Perhaps the most famous race run at Hurst Park was the Triumph Hurdle, first staged in 1939. Following World War II, the Triumph Hurdle continued, uninterrupted, between 1950 and 1962, when Hurst Park closed. After a brief hiatus, the race was transferred to Cheltenham in 1965 and became part of the Cheltenham Festival three years later.

What is a stop race flag?

In horse racing, a stop race flag is, as the name suggests, a flag waved by racecourse officials, such as the starter and advanced flag operator, or recall man, to bring a race to a halt. Once the stop race flag is deployed, jockeys must immediately stop riding – regardless and the race must be declared void.

In Britain, from January 4, 2021 onwards, the stop race flag has featured orange and yellow quarters, to increase its visibility compared with the previous all-yellow flag. Likewise, for clarity and the safety of all concerned, including jockeys, racecourse staff and spectators, the stop race procedure has also been revised.

Under the new rules, the waving of the stop race flag is still accompanied by the blowing of whistles, to provide an audible, as well as visible, signal to jockeys, but multiple flags must be deployed in one, or preferably more than one, location. The new stop race procedure received a timely examination when, on March 1, 2021, one of the runners in a maiden hurdle at Plumpton broke down in the back straight, leaving the rest of the field with nowhere to go to avoid the stricken horse on the second circuit.

What was Shergar’s race record?

Sadly, Shergar will always be best remembered not for his career as a racehorse, but for his mysterious disappearance from the Ballymany Stud, Co. Kildare in February, 1983, after which he was never seen alive again. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Shergar was an outstanding racehorse, who won six of his eight races, including the Guardian Classic Trial, Chester Vase, Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Indeed, his 10-length victory in the 1981 Derby – which led commentator Peter Bromley to exclaim, ‘…you need a telescope to see the rest!’ – remains the widest winning margin in the history of the Epsom Classic. His career ended in disappointment when only fourth, beaten 11½ lengths, on unfavourable soft going, in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster. A proposed trip to Longchamp for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was called off and Shergar was, instead, retired to stud.

Even so, Shergar was awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 140, placing him alongside such luminaries of the sport as Dancing Brave and Sea The Stars. At the end of his racing career, he was syndicated for £10 million, making him, for a time, the most famous and valuable horse in the world.

What is a stalls test?

The vast majority of Flat races in Britain and Ireland are started from starting stalls, so it is vital that racehorses remain tractable in and around the stalls. Horses that are difficult, or impossible, to load into the stalls, or become fractious and unruly once loaded, may need to be withdrawn on welfare grounds. Consequently, any horse that causes repeated problems at the start may be referred for a stalls test, which it must pass before it can race again.

As the name suggests, a stalls test is an official trial of a horse’s ability to start satifactorily from starting stalls. A stalls test may take place at a race meeting or elsewhere, subject to approval by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). In either case, the horse must demonstrate its willingness to be led into the stalls by a single stalls handler, with the assistance of no more than four stall handlers from behind, and remain in the stalls, quietly, for at least a minute.

A horse that fails a stalls test cannot take another for 14 days and, if it fails a second consecutive test, cannot take another, or race, for six months. If, at the end of that period, the horse fails a third consecutive stalls test, its future lies in the hands of the BHA Disciplinary Panel.

1 … 129 130 131 132 133 … 141