Where was Hurst Park Racecourse?

Hurst Park Racecourse, which staged its final meeting on October 10, 1962, was situated at Moulsey Hurst in West Molesey, Surrey, on the banks of the River Thames, approximately 12 miles from London. Hurst Park was built as a replacement for Hampton Racecourse, which closed permanently in 1887 after the Jockey Club refused to renew its licence.

Under the auspices of the Hurst Park Syndicate Limited, formed expressly for the purpose, the original, unenclosed Hampton site was extended onto nearby meadowland to create an enclosed course befitting a Flat racing licence. Thus, Hurst Park staged its first National Hunt fixture in March, 1890 and its first Flat fixture a year later.

In 1913, Hurst Park was famously the scene of an arson attack by two suffragettes, Kitty Marion and Clara Giveen, who were subsequently charged with causing damage worth £10,000, tried, found guilty and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. From 1939 onwards, Hurst Park was home to the Triumph Hurdle, which was transferred to Cheltenham in 1965, three years after the closure of Hurst Park, and is now a Grade 1 contest run on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival. Hurst Park remained a popular venue until its closure, but its owners ultimately decided ultimately decided that they could make more money from property development, rather than horse racing, on the site.

What is the Beverley Bullet?

Not to be confused with the horse of the same name, an eight-year-old gelding trained by Lawrence Mullaney, the Beverley Bullet, or Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, is a Listed, five-furlong race, run at Beverley Racecourse in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Inaugurated in 2004, the Beverley Bullet is open to horses aged three years and upwards and, even in its relatively short history, has been won by one or two horses that have gone on to victory at the highest, Group One level. The 2011 winner, Tangerine Trees, won the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp on his very next start, while the 2016 winner, Alpha Delphini won the Nunthorpe Stakes at York two seasons later.

The five-furlong course at Beverley is idiosyncratic insofar that it is on the rise throughout, making it a test of stamina as well as speed, particularly when the going is soft. Furthermore, the supposedly ‘straight’ course features a right-handed dog-leg which, in turn, creates the most pronounced draw bias, towards low numbers, in the whole country. Indeed, seven of the last ten winners of the Beverley Bullet were drawn in stall four or lower; the other three winners, Tangerine Trees in 2011, Take Cover in 2018 and Dakota Gold in 2020 were drawn 9, 9 and 8, respectively.

Has Tiger Roll ever run on the Flat?

Of course, Tiger Roll is best known for winning back-to-back renewals of the Grand National, in 2018 and 2019, making him the first horse to do since Red Rum in 1973 and 1974. However, despite his exploits at Aintree and at the Cheltenham Festival – where he has won five times in all, over hurdles and fences – Tiger Roll has a classy Flat pedigree. He was sired by the 2007 Derby winner Authorized out of mare by 1997 2,000 Guineas winner Entrepreneur, so is bred 3×3 to Sadler’s Wells.

Indeed, Tiger Roll was originally owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, founder of Godolphin, but never raced in the famous royal blue silks. That said, he has run on the Flat for his current owner, Gigginstown House Stud, not once but twice. Tiger Roll made his debut, as a 6-year-old, in a maiden over 2 miles on the all-weather at Dundalk in March, 2016 and finished second, beaten half a length.

Although small for a steeplechaser, he was nevertheless sent over fences later that season and didn’t run on the Flat again until October, 2020. On his first run since finishing second to Easysland in the Glenfarclas Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the previous March, Tiger Roll ran in another maiden, over 1 mile 6 furlongs, at Navan. After starting very slowly, he trailed the field for most of the way before making modest late headway to finish sixth of nine, beaten 29¼ lengths.

Did Sea Pigeon win the Ebor Handicap?

At the time of the retirement, as a 12-year-old, in March, 1982, Sea Pigeon was described as

‘probably the best known horse after Arkle and Red Rum’. He is best remembered for winning the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1980 and 1981, but arguably his most memorable victory came in the Ebor Handicap at York in 1979.

Saddled with top weight of 10 stone and ridden by his regular hurdles partner, Jonjo O’Neill, Sea Pigeon was sent off the longest-priced of three runners trained by Peter Easterby, at 18/1. O’Neill had actually broken three toes in his left foot the previous week, but ‘hoodwinked’ the racecourse doctor by presenting his uninjured right foot for inspection and was passed fit to ride.

In any event, Sea Pigeon – on whom, according to Easterby, ‘you couldn’t come too late’ – hit the front, travelling easily, with a furlong to run and looked like winning comfortably. However, he stopped quickly and, with O’Neill dropping his hands in the closing stages, was tackled close home by the 3-year-old Donegal Prince, to whom he was conceding 40lb. After a nailbiting wait, Sea Pigeon was called the winner, by a short head, thereby smashing the previous weight-carrying record for the Ebor Handicap.

1 … 47 48 49 50 51 … 138