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Florida Pearl

At the time of writing, Willie Mullins has been leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival four times in the last five years and six times in all. Altogether, he has saddled 54 winners at the Festival but, over 20 years ago, when he had saddled just two, he introduced a horse that would eventually become one of his most successful steeplechasers. That horse was, of course, Florida Pearl, a bay gelding by Florida Son, who announced his arrival at Prestbury Park with a ready, 5-length win in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 1997.

He was back again in 1998, justifying 11/8 favouritism in the RSA Chase, and was placed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, finishing third behind See More Business in 1999 and second behind Looks Like Trouble in 2000. On Boxing Day, 2001, he also beat Best Mate in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

All in all, Florida Pearl won 16 of his 33 races, including nine at the highest level, and had the distinction of winning the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown four times, in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004. Following his victory in 2004, which turned out to be his last race, Mullins said, “That’s given me more pleasure than I’ve ever had in my training career.”

September 1, 2020 by Cheltenham Legends

Richard Johnson

 

Richard Johnson OBE was Champion Conditional Jockey in 1995/96 at the age of 18. However, despite riding over a hundred winners in every National Hunt season since, for a long time Johnson seemed destined to be dubbed, eternally, as ‘the best jockey never to be champion’. Thankfully, though, in recent years Johnson has emerged from the shadow of Sir Anthony McCoy to become Champion Jockey three seasons running in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18.

At the Cheltenham Festival, Johnson has ridden a total of 23 winners, placing him fourth in the all-time list of leading jockeys, behind Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty, McCoy and Pat Taafe. His first winner came courtesy of Anzum, trained by David Nicholson, in the Stayers’ Hurdle in 1999. Despite starting at odds of 40/1, Anzum produced a strong run from the final flight to collar the favourite, Le Coudray, in the final strides and win by a neck.

The following year, Johnson rode his second Festival winner, Dark Stranger, trained by Martin Pipe, in the Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup and, 24 hours later, recorded his first ‘championship’ race success on Looks Like Trouble, trained by Noel Chance – who would later become his father-in-law – in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Johnson drew a blank at the Festival in 2001, but was back in the winners’ enclosure twice in 2002, courtesy of Flagship Uberalles in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Rooster Booster in the Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle, both trained by Philip Hobbs. In fact, those two winners were enough to win Johnson the leading jockey award for the one and only time.

Further success followed, though, with the victory of Rooster Booster in the Champion Hurdle in 2003 making Johnson, along with Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty, one of just three active jockeys to have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle. In recent years, Johnson has added to his Cheltenham tally by winning the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on Flying Tiger, trained by Nick Williams, and the Triumph Hurdle on Defi Du Seuil, trained by Hobbs, in 2017 and, of course, the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard, in 2018.

August 23, 2020 by Cheltenham News

John Francome: “The Greatest Jockey” at 65

John Francome MBE took the racing world – including your correspondent, who had just turned 20 – when he announced his immediate retirement from the saddle, at the age of just 32, at Chepstow in April 1985. However, Francome later explained, “I was riding The Reject [a faller at the open ditch]…and my foot went through the iron and the leather twisted round stopping it from coming out. Luckily, I grabbed the reins before he could go anywhere, otherwise it would have been good night. I quit there and then.”

 

Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Francome joined Fred Winter at his Uplands stables in Lambourn, Berkshire as a 16-year-old conditional jockey. He subsequently rode 1,138 winners and became National Hunt Champion Jockey seven times. Francome won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Midnight Court, trained by Fred Winter, in 1978, but perhaps one his finest moments came three years later, when he won the Champion Hurdle on the ‘old man’ of the party, the 11-year-old Sea Pigeon.

 

Already victorious in 1980 under Jonjo O’Neill, Sea Pigeon was sent off 7/4 favourite for the 1981 renewal. Francome rode the perfect waiting race, delaying his challenge until halfway up the run-in, at which point he produced Sea Pigeon perfectly under hands and heels riding to overhaul Pollardstown and Daring Run and win comfortably. In typical, self-deprecating style, Francome remembers the race more for avoiding “what could so easily have been a first flight disaster” when Irish challenger Ivan King came down.

 

Since calling time on his riding career, Francome has been a successful trainer, TV presenter, author and builder. Personally, I still find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that “The Greatest Jockey”, as John McCririck used to call him, turned 65 in December 2017. Apparently his secret is, “Mixing with young people and plenty of sleep.”

 

 

July 2, 2020 by Cheltenham Legends

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2019

The 2019 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was unusual insofar as the favourite, Presenting Percy, trained by Pat Kelly, had not been seen in public since winning over hurdles at Galway in January and had not raced over fences since winning the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the previous year; he was attempting to become the first horse to win the ‘Blue Riband’ event without a preparatory run over fences since Easter Hero in 1930.

In a fascinating renewal, Presenting Percy faced the first, second and third from the previous year, Native River, Might Bite and Anibale Fly, along with Clan Des Obeaux and Thistlecrack, who had finished first and second, ahead of Native River, in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. In any event, Anibale Fly fared best of that sextet, staying on strongly in the closing stages to finish second.

However, it was Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend and one of a quartet trained by Willie Mullins – who previously had the unenviable record of saddling the runner-up six times – who landed the spoils, staying on strongly from the final fence to win by 2½ lengths. Bristol De Mai, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by Daryl Jacob, finished a further 3¾ lengths behind in third. Presenting Percy, who was later found to be lame, and Native River were never really travelling, Clan Des Obeaux appeared to fail through lack of stamina and Might Bite and Thistlecrack ran well below expectations, despite looking well, and were pulled up.

Willie Mullins, the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival with 65 winners, reflected on the victory of the 12/1 chance, saying, “I suppose Al Boum Photo was my third or fourth choice, but we knew that he would go on the ground and we knew he would stay.”

June 25, 2020 by Cheltenham Gold Cup

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