The flat season in the UK is coming to a close and, when you look back at the year we have had, it is very difficult to pinpoint moments which stand out more than others. That said, there are a handful of horses who deserve a special mention for the campaigns they have had. Here are three runners which can stake a claim for being one of the leading horses of 2018 in the UK. Roaring Lion
Three-year-old Roaring Lion can have strong claims to be regarded as the horse of the year in 2018 as John Gosden’s runner won four Group One races and got better as the campaign unfolded. After winning the Dante Stakes at York back in May, he was regarded as one of the leading contenders in the Derby. Although he could only finish third in the British Classic, he more than made up for it with victories following in the Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day. The colt proved his durability at the highest level over a range of trips between 1m and 1m4f. Unfortunately, he was unable to end the season on a high in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. Connections of their horse will be very proud of his achievements this year, however. Enable It’s not been a straightforward year for Enable, who did not see a racecourse until September. However, the filly has finished the campaign so strongly she has to be listed amongst the best horses of 2018. Gosden’s runner returned to France to defend her crown in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on just her second start where she held off the challenge of Sea of Class in the closing stages of the race. Just weeks later, the four-year-old travelled across to the United States where she became the first horse in history to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Arc in the same season. It remains to be seen if Enable will remain in training next year but the temptation has to be there to try to win a third straight Arc, where she has horse racing odds of 3/1 for the Longchamp contest. Stradivarius
Stradivarius has won all five of his starts in 2018 to end the campaign with a perfect record. The four-year-old started the season with victory coming in the Yorkshire Cupwhere he shook off any cobwebs to score by three lengths. Gosden’s stayer then needed to be at his best for the Group One Ascot Gold Cup in June and he stepped up to that challenge to outbattle the French-trained Vazirabad by half a length. Stradivarius had no issues adding the Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup to his name on his next two runs, while he still was at his best in October to claim the Long Distance Cup to his roll on honour this season. The chestnut colt has dominated his division and deserves full recognition for the way he has proved consistent throughout the year. With a number of two-year-old colts and fillies also shining in 2018, the future looks bright for another big season in 2019.
Think about Godolphin's horse racing empire in the UK. Who comes to mind? Saeed bin Suroor has been part of the furniture. He took out his trainer licence in 1993. One year later, he was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed. In those years, he has been crowned British Champion Trainer on four occasions. The infamous incidents of Mahmood Al Zarooni and doping of 11 horses back in 2013 brought scandal to the ranks as he admitting being in breach of the rules of racing for the use of anabolic steroids. In many ways, the fortunes of bin Suroor may have improved but with the announcement of Charlie Appleby taking up the reigns in 2013. The selection process especially over 2015 - 2017 saw Saeed bin Suroor become the poor relation. Certainly, the two-year-olds were very thin on the ground and limited compared with those of Appleby who made hay while the sun shined. This Flat season has seen a spring in the step of Suroor with a number of brighter prospects in the two-year-old ranks and worthy betting opportunities at www.novibet.co.uk Saeed bin Suroor/form Burj - 310104 JFoul - 551160 Dubai Legacy - 101 Al Mureib - 2523 Royal Marine - 61 Silent Hunter - 4 Dubai Beauty - 17 Mawahib - 33 Dubai Icon - 6 Royal Meeting - 1 Light And Dark - This year's two-year-olds, above, have been a mixed bag but the likes of Burj, Dubai Legacy, Royal Marine & Royal Meeting are worthy of note. I particularly respect the chances of Royal Marine for being a very classy prospect. This April foal is a son of Raven's Pass out of a once-raced mare. This American-bred was fancied to go well on debut at Newmarket when priced 9/4 but disappointed. THat race revealed another smart horse in the shape of Jash, trained by Simon Crisford, who was beaten by just half a length when runner-up at Newmarket when competing in the Judmonte Middle Park Stakes (Group 1). Interestingly, Royal Marine was markedly weak in the betting when at Doncaster. He started at 11/2 but layers had got it wrong as the colt travelled well and surged clear of the field to win by an impressive when winning by two-and-a-quarter lengths. The form of that race has been franked with the second scoring with ease next start. Note: Royal Marine went on to win at Group 1 Longchamp, France. There will be plenty more winners coming this season and Saeed bin Suroor will be hoping that one or two are prospects for the Guineas meeting if not the Epsom Derby. Perhaps that will be wishful think. Time will tell. However, one thing we know, Godolphin seem to be giving their original star talent the respect he deserves after a few lean years.
One of the most popular steeplechasers in the world? It has to be the Grand National which takes place at Aintree, Liverpool on Saturday, 6th April 2019. Take advantage of the best odds at bet-grand-national.co.uk The National has a history that dates back to the 17th century. There is some uncertainty about winners of earlier races which date to pre-1839. However, the first winner to be acclaimed was named Lottery (1839). Trained by George Dockeray (who won the following year with a horse named Jerry), ridden by Jem Mason. This horse led the way for many famous winners and stories that are stranger than fiction. Of the most noted winners, we all remember is Red Rum, trained by Ginger McCain. Race fans across the world remember ''Rummy'' being the only horse to taste victory on three occasions: 1973, 1974 & 1977. Such was the jumping skill that he never fell in 100 races on the National Hunt. In fact, he even won [deadheated] over 5f at Aintree when it was open to Flat racing, too. As a fitting tribute, Red Rum is buried at the finishing line at Aintree racecourse. A remarkable horse whose standing as the greatest steeplechaser in the world is unlikely to be challenged. As with every good fortune, there is an equal measure of loss. The Grand National is a tough race that has seen just a handful of finishers when the going is very testing. Sometimes even a likely winners ''somehow'' grasps defeat from of the jaws of victory. Even royalty can suffer the misfortune as seen in the Queen Mother's horse Devon Loch, ridden by Dick Francis, who went on to be a famous fictional writer. His real-life tale of Devon Loch still brings much questioning since its running in 1956. Devon Lock looked to be the winner when he ''jumped a shadow'' only yards from the finishing line, to land in a muddy heap as E.S.B and his jockey David Dick ran by at odds of 100/7. One of the funny stories about finishing in the middle is a jockey rather than a horse. Captain Martin William Becher (1797 - 1864) was a former soldier serving in the Napoleonic Wars and battle of Waterloo. He was also a keen steeplechase jockey taking part in the Grand National on a number of occasions. It was reputed that Becher won the 1836 Grand National but that was later disregarded. However, riding Conrad, a beast of a horse, set his name in the history books for a very different reason. The horse led but upon meeting the first major obstacle - a water jump - refused and Becher went over its head and lay in the brook until all the rivals had thundered over his head. He cursed that he didn't realise how filthy the water tasted without whisky! He remounted and was unseated again at the second water jump. He never rode in the race again but the fence was named after him called Becher's Brook.
Grand National is a horse racing event that is awaited by all. Even the people who are not fans of other horse racing events have their bets placed at timeform.com on the memorable event. Behind every successful man there is a woman and behind every successful horse, there is a trainer. There wouldn’t be legendary horses like Secretariat if they didn’t have proper trainers. Here is a list of the most successful horse trainers at the Grand National: Neville Crump - 3 wins Neville Crump won his first Grand National in 1948 when Cottage the Mare became the first of its kind to win the race since 1902. Crump proved to be victorious again in 1952 when the Teal won the race after it restarted. The race had to be restarted ten minutes later because the field breached the starting tape prompting a false start. Neville’s final victory at the Grand national came when the crowd favorite Merryman II won the race in 1960. This was the first televised Grand national. Tim Forster - 3 wins Tim Forster's first victory came with the racehorse Well To Do in 1972. Tim was a pessimist throughout his career and didn’t believe he would win again. Before the race of 1980 Grand National, the amateur jockey asked Tim for advice to which he replied: "Keep remounting." Despite Tim's lack of faith in Ben Nevis, the horse went on to win the Grand national bagging Tim another win. His third and final victory almost didn’t occur when Tim wanted to pull off Last suspect from the 1985 Grand National. It was due Jockey Hywel Davies that Last Suspect participated in the race and later won it. Vincent O'Brien - 3 wins Vincent O’Brien made history in the fifties when he became achieved the extraordinary feat of training the winners of three successive Grand National, with three different horses. His first victory was in 1953 with the horse Early mist. This victory was followed by another victory in 1954 when Royal Tan won. O’Brien completed his hat-trick in 1955 when his horse Pat Taafe won the Grand National. Ginger McCain - 4 wins Ginger Mccain made history with his horse Red Rum when he completed a historic treble of winning. McCain won three Grand nationals with Red Rum; the first in 1973, the next in 1974, and the last in 1977. McCain once again proved that his victories are not dependant on any special horse when he won the 2004 Grand National with Amberleigh House. Fred Rimell - 4 wins Fred Rimell was arguably the most successful trainer at the Grand National not because he has 4 wins but because of the fact that all of his wins came for different horses. Rimell first won in 1956, when his horse ESB snatched the victory from other competitors. He won again after five years in 1961 with Nicolaus silver who became the second gray in history to win the National. Rimell bagged the National again in 1970 thanks to the horse Gay trip. His final victory is perhaps the most memorable because his horse Rag Trade defeated Red Rum and won the National in 1976.
Horse Trainer Directory is a free resource featuring a comprehensive list of Horse Trainer Websites, Blogs, Twitter & Facebook Pages for National Hunt & Flat Racing. Take advantage of this primary source of data by clicking our ‘Quick Buttons’ to detail all the latest news. You will not find this information anywhere else. Why listen to the whispers when this comes straight from the horse’s mouth?
With our website going ‘live,’ we've been amazed by the response with testimonials/feedback from horse trainers, journalists, racing fans & welfare groups among those who have a love of everything equine.
What makes our website so impressive is the ease you can navigate 100s of resources with our user-friendly features. Three simple ‘Quick button’ allow access to trainers of both codes, including our latest development the ‘Track’ facility which highlights every racecourse website & twitter link so you need never miss a day’s racing, promotions or news.
Join the community spirit by exchanging links to your equine-related websites for free. Help support your favourite charities by telling us about their work, appeals & successes promoting racing welfare. In addition, we have some wonderful deals for advertisers from a cool full page to a tiny chilled-out text link.
Don’t waste time searching the Internet high & low when the Horse Trainer Directory is the easiest way to keep you in the know. With regular updates, you won’t miss a stride because we’ve gone the extra furlong.
Welcome To Horse Trainer Directory James Fanshawe has become one of the most familiar and respected figures on the British Turf – this tall, slim, bespectacled fellow who has given new energy and life to a stable steeped in history. In his unassuming way, however, James Fanshawe remains ever ambitious to build upon that status with new stars for every discipline. Visit James Fanshawe's website here. Facebook Contact details: Pegasus House, Snailwell Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7DJ Tel: 01638 664525
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The History of Pegasus Stables
Newmarket’s enduring monument to Fred Archer, greatest and most tragic of all Victorian Jockeys, is Pegasus Stables, formerly known as Falmouth Lodge where James Fanshawe has trained since 1990.
Fred Archer, a rather tall man, whose solemn expression gave him more the appearance of a bank clerk than the most powerful and fearless rider of the day, became engaged to Helen Rose Dawson at the age of 25 in 1882. In preparation for his marriage he built the mansion to which he gave the name of Falmouth House as a compliment to Viscount Falmouth, who held first claim on his services. Next door to his new home he built the then named Falmouth Lodge for the sum of £20,000, a huge amount of money at that time, in which he intended to train when his riding days were finished.
Fate, though, decided Archer would never have a string of horses in that yard. By 1886 he was desperately unhappy, despite riding as brilliantly as ever. Not only was he still inconsolable after the death of his young wife in childbirth two years earlier, but in addition to his mental anguish, he was enduring the excruciating physical agony of trying to maintain a racing weight. On 8th November 1886, he shot himself in Falmouth House, which was demolished in the 1960’s, during a fit of delirium. He was just 29, had been champion on 13 consecutive occasions, and ridden five Derby winners. In all he rode? classic winners.
Although he never trained in the stables he had built, Fred Archer did keep his hacks and carriage horses there. Much his favourite hack was Scotch Pearl, a grey mare who had retired from racing. During the early years of this century, a number of Newmarket people were adamant that they had seen the ghost of Fred Archer, riding across the Heath on his beloved Scotch Pearl, one of the first inmates of Pegasus Stables.
Following the death of Fred Archer, Falmouth Lodge, as it was still called, was the private stables of Sir John Blundell Maple, a Member of Parliament whose fortune came from his furniture emporium in Tottenham Court Road. Sir John Blundell Maple had a quick succession of trainers, as Percy Peck was in charge of the 40 odd horses in 1894 and 1895, John Day in 1896, and then Willie Waugh until the death of the owner in 1903.
The best horse that Sir John Blundell Maple had in the yard was Nun Nicer. In 1898 Willie Waugh was responsible for that filly winning the 1,000 Guineas.
In between the world wars, and for a short time after the second, Falmouth Lodge was the quarters of Gordon Sadler. A member of a famous racing family, Gordon Sadler won no races of outstanding importance, though the stable was consistently successful over the years.
With the retirement of Gordon Sadler in about 1950, the name of the yard was changed to Pegasus Stables, and it was taken over by Captain Robin Oates, who had spent three years with Noel Murless at Beckhampton after leaving the army. During the 12 years that he was at Pegasus, Captain Oates won many races with useful horses like Rough, Josephus and Jeanne Michelle. On Captain Oates departure for Sussex in 1962, Maurice Moroney, who had ridden over fences after serving his apprenticeship in Ireland, had a small string in the yard for two or three seasons.
The association with Fred Archer was renewed after 82 years when Bill Watts commenced his training career at Pegasus Stables in 1968. Bill Watts is twice related to Archer, as one of his great-grandfathers, Charlie Archer, and one of his great-grandmothers Alice Pratt were brother and sister of the great jockey. Having obtained his first notable success with Our Ruby in The Oaks Trial at Lingfield in 1968, Bill Watts won the Royal Hunt Cup with Mr. Charles Engelhard’s Calpurnius in 1970, before going to Hurghill Lodge Stables at Richmond in Yorkshire at the end of that season.
Another prominent trainer of the present time, Clive Brittain, embarked upon his first season with a licence at Pegasus Stable’s in 1972. Two years later he won the St. James’s Palace Stakes with Averof at Royal Ascot and then moved across Newmarket to the Carlburg establishment he continues to train to this day.
Michael Jarvis, who had saddled many good winners while private trainer to Sir David Robinson, was at Pegasus for the season of 1977 and 1978. Most prestigious of the races won during those two years was the Ebor Handicap with Lady Beaverbrook’s Totowah. On leaving Pegasus, he went to the Kremlin Stable where he continued training until his sad death in 2011.
After leaving Lambourn Patrick Haslam took charge of Pegasus during the years 1979 – 1988. He trained the winners of 272 races – 259 on the flat and 13 over jumps. As was the case with Bill Watts the most important race he won from the yard was the1984 Royal Hunt Cup, when he sent out Hawkley to beat Teleprompter (bred next door to Pegasus Stables at Lord Derby’s Woodlands Stud).
Since 1990 James Fanshawe has sent out many Group 1, 2 and 3 winners as well as two Champion Hurdle Winners which you can see from The Roll of Honour Page.
James and Jacko Fanshawe have always been immensely proud of the history and the association with Fred Archer that Pegasus Stables has. They still feel he is very much part of the yard and their son Tom born in 1997 has as his second name Frederick in recognition of arguably the greatest jockey that ever lived. James sets high standards and asks himself if the great jockey were alive now would he want to ride the horses that currently fill boxes he built.
When James took over the lease in December 1988 the yard was very run down having been let for so many years. He was able to purchase it in 1994 and set about the task to restore it to its former glory. The main yard, which houses the colts, has its original doors, which have been stripped, complete with original brass fittings. The cheaply 1960’s built breeze block yard has been replaced with a yard built to the same specifications as Fred’s original boxes. We chose to name the new stables the Falmouth Yard after Freds original choice of name. The most important aspect of these is the ventilation which was as vital for a horse’s well being in the nineteenth century as it is today.
Every box at Pegasus is now in excellent condition and owners can rest assured that their horses are stabled and trained in the best possible environment.
Source: James Fanshawe website.
HORSE TRAINER DIRECTORY
''Why listen to whispers when this comes straight from the horse's mouth?''
Welcome to the one-stop shop where everything gallops. This resource details a comprehensive list of Horse Trainer Websites, Blogs & Twitter links for National Hunt & Flat racing. Take advantage of this primary source of data by clicking our ‘Quick Buttons’ to detail all the latest news. Why listen to the whispers when this comes straight from the horse’s mouth?
With our website going ‘live’ we've been amazed by the response with testimonials/feedback from horse trainers, journalists, racing fans & welfare groups amongst those who have a love of everything equine.
What makes our website so impressive is the ease you can navigate 100s of resources with our user-friendly features. Three simple ‘Quick button’ allow access to trainers of both codes, including our latest development the ‘Track’ facility which highlights every racecourse website & twitter link so you need never miss a day’s racing, promotions or news.
Come join the community spirit by exchanging links to your equine-related websites for free. Help support your favourite charities by telling us about their work, appeals & successes promoting racing welfare. In addition, we have some wonderful deals for advertisers from a cool full page to a tiny chilled-out text link. Be spontaneous, imaginative with our brilliant new concept the Pop-Up Website for cutting-edge promotion.
Don’t waste time searching the Internet high & low when the Horse Trainer Directory is the easiest way to keep you in the know. With regular updates you won’t miss a stride because we’ve gone the extra furlong.
