|
Best Mate
Best Mate (28 January 1995 – 1 November 2005) was an Irish-bred, English-trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was a popular horse, and his sudden death while racing made front-page news. Background Best Mate was a bay gelding. He was foaled on 28 January 1995. His French sire, Un Desperado, won the Prix Eugène Adam in 1986. His dam, Katday, had raced on the flat and been bought by breeder Jacques Van't Hart for 1,250 Irish guineas. As a yearling, Best Mate was bought by bloodstock agent Tony Costello for 2,500 Irish guineas. He was pulled up in his first point-to-point in Ireland in February 1999. After his first win, he was purchased by Terry Biddlecombe and trainer Henrietta Knight for owner Jim Lewis. He went into training at Knight's yard in West Lockinge, Oxfordshire. Racing career Best Mate made a winning debut under Rules in a Cheltenham bumper in November 1999, and three weeks later won a novice hurdle race at Sandown Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Ville
Top Ville (5 April 1976 – November 13, 1998) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and sire (horse), sire. In the autumn of 1978, the colt established himself as one of the leading two-year-old colts in France with wins in the Prix Saint-Roman, Prix de Condé. In the following year, he took his winning run to six with victories in the Prix de Guiche, Prix Lupin and Prix du Jockey Club, beating top-class opponents including Irish River and Le Marmot. He was beaten in his two remaining races and was retired to stud, where he became a successful and influential breeding stallion. Background Top Ville was a dark-coated bay horse with a white star (horse marking), star and a white sock (horse marking), sock on his left hind leg bred in Ireland by his owner Aga Khan IV. He was sired by High Top, who won the 2000 Guineas in 1972 and later became a successful breeding stallion. High Top's other progeny included the Oaks Stakes winner Circus Plume an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Hill was on Tuesday 25 August 1818 when the opening race was won by Miss Tidmarsh, owned by Mr E Jones. It was a year later when the results were printed in the Racing Calendar when a programme of flat racing was watched by the Duke of Gloucester who donated 100 Guineas to the prize fund. By 1831 races were being staged at Prestbury, although not on the present day course. In 1834 the Grand Annual Steeplechase was run for the first time. In 1839 Lottery won the Grand Annual having previously won the first Aintree Grand National. In 1840 the meeting transferred to Andoversford for a brief period, only to return to Prestbury in 1847. 1902 was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steeplechase (horse Racing)
A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland (where it originated), Great Britain, Canada, United States, Australia, and France. The name is derived from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a Church (building), church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside. Modern usage of the term "steeplechase" differs between countries. In Ireland and Great Britain, it refers only to races run over large, fixed obstacles, in contrast to "Hurdling (horse race), hurdle" races where the obstacles are much smaller. The collective term "jump racing" or "National Hunt racing" is used when referring to steeplechases and hurdle races collectively (although, properly speaking, National Hunt racing also includes some flat racing, flat races). Elsewhere in the world, "steeplechase" i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 days. Aintree also holds meetings in May, October (Sunday), November and December (both Saturdays). The Aintree Racecourse had suffered three major disruptions in post-war history, starting with the 1993 Grand National due to a series of false starts and no winner was announced, followed by the 1997 Grand National, postponed to Monday because of an IRA bomb threat and the 2023 Grand National was delayed due to Animal Rights protesters. History of the course Horse racing was popular in Liverpool from at least Tudor dynasty, Tudor times, In the 18th century Nicholas Blundell organised races on the sands at Crosby, Merseyside, Crosby. In 1829, William Lynn, the owner of the Waterloo Hotel in Ranelagh Street, Liverpool, approached the Second E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supreme Novices' Hurdle
The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong (2 miles and 87 yards, or ), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. It is the first event on the opening day of the Festival, and its start is traditionally greeted by the "Cheltenham Roar", a loud cheer generated by the crowds of onlookers. History The race was originally called the Gloucestershire Hurdle, and it used to be split into two or three separate divisions. The Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien recorded ten victories in the race during an eight-year spell in the 1950s. It became known as the Lloyds Bank Champion Novices' Hurdle in 1974, when Lloyds Bank began a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandown Park
Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing during afternoons, evenings and on weekends, and also hosts many non-racing events such as trade shows, wedding fairs, toy fairs, car shows and auctions, property shows, concerts, and even some private events. It was requisitioned by the War Department from 1940–1945 for World War II. The venue has hosted bands such as UB40, Madness, Girls Aloud, Spandau Ballet and Simply Red. The racecourse is close to Esher railway station, served by trains from London Waterloo. There is a secondary exit from Esher station which is open on race days, this exit leads directly into the racecourse and Lower Green, Esher. History Sandown Park was the site of a priory built by Henry II. All the occupants died of plague in 1349. Later, a hospital wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurdling (horse Race)
A hurdle race in Great Britain and Ireland is a National Hunt horse race where the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles or flights that are over three and a half feet high. They are typically made of a series of panels made of brush and are flexible. Hurdle races always have a minimum of eight hurdles and a minimum distance of two miles (3.2 km). National Hunt horses that have the size and scope to jump higher than the height of a hurdle use these types of races in order to gain experience of jumping obstacles so they can later be sent to jump bigger obstacles called fences. Hurdle races tend to be run at a faster pace than Chases as the height of the hurdle is much lower than a chasing fence. The best hurdlers have a low and efficient style of jumping, which means they do not lose much momentum when they run over or hurdle a hurdle. Australian hurdle races were conducted over wooden fences which provide some flexibility when ran over or hurdled. In Victoria, these ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Hunt Flat Race
National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of the British and Irish National Hunt Committees decided to abolish the distinction between the hunter and handicap horses and created a new amalgamated rule: In modern days the National Hunt flat races are designed for horses who have not previously run under any other form of racing except National Hunt flat or French AQPS races and in Great Britain are restricted to horses aged seven years or less. They are used by trainers to give horses experience on a racecourse before beginning a career in jumps racing. Because of the lack of fences and hurdles, the horses sometimes run faster; however, the low quality of many of these races, and that horses are only taking part to gain experience, often results in a slow pace. Bumpers are typica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Lockinge
West Lockinge is a village in and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lockinge, in the Vale of White Horse district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local authority boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The village is about east of Wantage and is included within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In 1931 the parish had a population of 60. Geography A chalk stream Goddard's Brook emerges in the village, feeding into Ginge Brook, which eventually joins the River Ock near Abingdon. In 1993 a mixed conifer and deciduous woodland was planted behind the village, the area is named Christopher's Wood after Christopher Loyd, previous manager of the Lockinge Estate. National Cycle Route 544 passes through the village. History The route of the ancient Icknield Way passes through the village. Arnhill and the nearby vicinity behind the village was an Iron Age fortificati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Biddlecombe
Terry Biddlecombe (2 February 1941 – 5 January 2014) was an English National Hunt racing jockey in the 1960s and 1970s. He was Champion Jockey in 1965, 1966 and 1969. Biddlecombe was born in Hartpury, Gloucester on 2 February 1941. He rode 114 winners in the 1964/1965 season, and followed that with 102 the next season. In 1968/1969, he rode 77 winners, which saw him tied with Bob Davies. One of his finest moments came in the 1967 Cheltenham Gold Cup, when he rode the 100-8 horse '' Woodland Venture'' to victory. In 1972 he finished second in the Grand National on Gay Trip. Between 1972 and 1974, he rode many times for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, a well-known supporter of horse racing. In April 1974 he appeared on the television programme '' This Is Your Life'', and finally retired from competitive racing having posted more than 900 winners. Early life His father Walter was a successful point to point jockey and farmer. His mother, Nancy was a horsewoman. His elder br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point-to-point (steeplechase)
A point-to-point is a form of horse racing over fences for fox hunting, hunting horses and amateur riders. In Ireland, where the sport is open to licensed professional trainers, many of the horses will appear in these races before they compete in National Hunt races. Consequently, the Irish point-to-point tends to be used as a nursery for future young stars: a horse that wins its debut point-to-point in Ireland will often sell for a high price. Whilst professional trainers are specifically excluded from running horses (other than their own personal horses) in point-to-points in Great Britain, the days of the farmer running his hunter at the local point-to-point are gone. (They have been replaced to some extent by hunter chases). Increasingly, horses are run from "livery yards" - unlicensed but otherwise professional training establishments, sometimes closely allied with a licensed yard. Horses running in point-to-points must be Thoroughbreds, save in the case of Hunt Members races ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prix Eugène Adam
The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in July. History The event was established in 1893, and it was originally called the Prix Monarque. It was named after Monarque, the sire of Gladiateur. The Prix Monarque was renamed the Prix du Président de la République in 1903. It reverted to its original name when a new Prix du Président de la République (the future Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud) was introduced in 1904. The race was usually run on Maison-Laffitte's straight track until 1910. For a period thereafter it took place on the venue's right-handed course. The event was renamed in memory of Eugène Adam (1840–1904), a former president of the Société Sportive d'Encouragement, in 1911. The title Prix Eugène Adam had been previously assigned to what la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
