Binocular, foaled on 17 March 2004 in France, is a French

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

retired

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. He was sired by Enrique out of the mare Bleu Ciel Et Blanc. He is owned by

J. P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. He was a major shareholder of Manchester United until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer in 2005. Early life McManus was born in Limerick, Ireland, ...

and trained by

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tr ...

. His primary

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Tony McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and Britain, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners and was Champion Jockey a recor ...

.Binocular Pedigree
racingpost.com, accessed 17 March 2010. Binocular started racing as a two-year-old when he was entered into the Prix de Belleville – for unraced

colt (horse) A colt is a young male horse, usually below the age of four years. Description The term "colt" only describes young male horses and is not to be confused with foal, which is a horse of either sex less than one year of age. Similarly, a yearlin ...

and geldings – in October 2006. In that race, he bested 10 other horses en route to his first victory. His first notable win came in February 2008 at

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles ...

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames, known locally as Sunbury, is a town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other su ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England where he won the Adonis Juvenile Novices' Hurdle, a Grade 2 National Hunt race. Although he won the race, McManus was disappointed. He said of Binocular; ''"It seemed that the horse didn't jump as well as he can, but Kempton is a quick track, and maybe he was not suited to it."'' Binocular's first major win in a Grade 1 race came in April 2008. With jockey McCoy at the helm, he went on to win the 2008 Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England where he beat Celestial Halo by 7 lengths. Binocular's other major Grade 1 National Hunt win came in the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

in March 2010 at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Racing at Cheltenham took place in 1815, but comprised only minor flat races on Nottingham Hill. The first racing on Cleeve ...

when he beat Khyber Kim by 3.5 lengths. Binocular had originally been ruled out of the Champion Hurdle due to a muscle problem, and he drifted out to as high as 999–1 to win the race.Bone scans and back specialists turn 999-1 Binocular into a champion
guardian.co.uk, 16 March 2010, accessed 17 March 2010. However, McManus and McCoy later decided he was fit to run. By winning the Champion Hurdle, he denied 4-1 race favourite

Go Native Go native or variants may refer to: * Go Native, an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse Going Native *''Going Native'', travel book by Eric Muspratt 1936 *''Going Native'', by Oliver St John Gogarty 1940 *''Going Native'', novel by Stephen Wright 1 ...

the chance to become the first horse to win the

Triple Crown of Hurdling The Triple Crown of Hurdling is awarded to a horse that wins all three of the open, two-mile Grade 1 Hurdling races in any given English National Hunt season: #The Fighting Fifth Hurdle, held at the Newcastle Racecourse #The Christmas Hurdle, he ...

. Binocular's career record reads 9 wins, 3 seconds and 2 thirds, with 2 of his wins coming in Grade 1 races. On 10 December 2013 it was announced that Binocular was retired due to a heart problem.
Heart problem forces Binocular into retirement, racingpost.com, 10 December 2013, accessed 10 December 2013.

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Binocular'' {{Champion Hurdle winners 2004 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 7-a Cheltenham Festival winners Champion Hurdle winners ja:ウェルアームド