Racing Review

Red Rum

Red Rum is surely, even today, one of the most recognisable names in horse racing. It’s testament to what he achieved in his career, that even those born well after he’d stopped racing still know who this thoroughbred steeplechaser was.

Initially bred to run 1 mile races, Red Rum’s talents were actually better suited to much longer distances, as his future successes would attest to. His brilliance wasn’t spotted immediately and it wasn’t until he was passed to Ginger McCain’s training yard that amazing things started to happen.

Red Rum’s crowning achievement remains a one off in racing even today. That being the feat of winning the Grand National three times, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. Casual and serious racing fans alike will realise how difficult the Grand National is, with it’s sizeable fields and taxing jumps, though Red Rum was able to sweep these complexities aside. In the 1973 race he was 30 lengths off the pace and his eventual victory against fellow 9-1 shot Crisp is deemed by many to be one of the best horse racing moments of all time. Even in the ‘gap years’ of 1975 and 1976, Red Rum came second in the National, demonstarting just how much of a firm fixture he’d become in the race during the 70s.

In retrospect Red Rum was in very safe hands throughout his time in racing, with Brian Fletcher as jockey for his first two Grand National wins (Fletched had already ridden one National winner in 1968 – Red Alligator) and trained by the talented Ginger McCain. Red Rum’s time in racing ended in 1978 following a hairline fracture, but the nations love for him didn’t and hasn’t diminished. He died aged 30 and a life sized sculpture of this much loved high achiever overlooks the paddock at Aintree, a place in which he made many a memory.

Kauto Star

Kauto Star was a National Hunt race horse who had a glittering career under trainer Paul Nicholls, displaying grit, determination and immense talent along the way. He was trained at Manor Farm Stables in Ditcheat.

The horse first came to the attention of Nicholls after he saw a clip of it racing in France, where Kauto Star’s career had first started. Through his bloodstock agent Kauto Star was purchased for 400,000 euros, and faith was soon rewarded by an easy class 3 Newbury win. After a few racing ups and downs, it was the 2006/2007 season that really showed Kauto Star’s ability with wins in the Betfair Chase and Tingle Creek Chase.

Stand out achievements of the champion racecourses career include winning the King George VI Chase five times, and being the first horse to ever regain the Cheltenham Gold Cup title.

Kauto Star started the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup as a short 5/4 favourite, ridden by Ruby Walsh. He delivered on expectations, and as he’s already won the Betfair Chase and King George VI Chase, this win completed the third and final leg of the ‘Betfair Million’ earning a £1,000,000 bonus for the victory (his total career prize money including this was over £3.7 million). Starting favourite again in 2008, he was handily beaten by second favourite Denman. In 2009 Kauto Star had his revenge over Denman winning by a huge thirteen length margin.

Kauto Star was the top rated steeplechase horse in four seperate years, and this point is pushed home by his Timeform rating, which places him joint fifth best steeplechase horse since the 1960s.

The end to Kauto Star’s story is unfortunately a sad one. In 2015 we suffered severe injuries following a fall in the paddock and had to be put down. His brilliance will however always live on in the hearts of racing fans.

Frankel

From boxing to horse racing, there is something special about being undefeated throughout your career, and Frankel is one of those rare icons in sport that we can say this of. The Henry Cecil trained Frankel raced 14 times in his career, winning each and every one of those races and becoming the highest ranked horse in the world in the process.

Frankel was foaled in February of 2008 and his first win took place on 13th August 2010 in the class 4 EBF Maiden Stakes at Newmarket. His next win was in the Class 2 Frank Whittle Stakesin Doncaster a month later. His first major win came just came 15 days later in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot. Although he had a high standard of opposition Frankel’s reputation had already started to proceed him, and he started at odds of 3/10f to win the race.

From there things moved fast. It was on 30th April 2011 that Frankel won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, a race in which he started at 1/2 favourite. Further highlights in his illustrious career include at win at Ascot’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes that same year, and a win in the Queen Anne Stakes in June of the following year. His final two wins were the International Stakes and Champion Stakes where a crown of 32,000 cheered him on. Since 1900 only Ribot has won more races and remained unbeaten.

All of Frankel’s wins were with Tom Queally riding, and he certainly got to be there for a piece of history in the making. In the midst of Frankel’s wins Queally stated “This is the people´s horse now. If someone asked me to sum up my season, it would be one word, Frankel.”

With close to £3 million in prize money this was just the end of a chapter for Frankel, rather than the whole story. Once he had stopped racing his stud fee was set at an eye watering £125,000. It was clearly too attractive an offer to pass up for many though, with 133 takers (so to speak!) in the first season alone. After sire Cracksman won the Champion Stakes in 2017 the fee rose even higher to £175,000. It’s ‘money where your mouth is’ proof of Frankel’s greatness.