Cheltenham Legends

Nowadays, Richard Dunwoody is best known as a globe-trotting photographer and erstwhile “Strictly Come Dancing” contestant but, in a 17-year career as a National Hunt jockey, he rode an impressive 1,699 winners and was champion jockey not once, not twice but three times.

Dunwoody began his riding career as an amateur way back in 1982, turning professional in 1984, and riding his first Grand National winner, West Tip, just two short years years later. To many this demonstrated that he and West Tip had something extra beyond typical Grand National Runners. His other major victories included yet another Grand National, on Miinniehoma in 1994, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, on Charter Party in 1988, and the King George VI Chase four times, on Desert Orchid in 1989 and 1990 and One Man in 1995 and 1996, so he certainly ticked a good number of the racing festival siuccess boxes.

 

Unfortunately Dunwoody was forcibly retired from race riding in 1999, as the result of a persistent neck injury but, in 1994/95, had the distinction of being the very last champion jockey before the A.P. McCoy era. At the time of his retirement, he was, in fact, the winningmost jockey in the history of National Hunt racing.

 

Dunwoody was closely associated with Desert Orchid, whom he rode to a total of seven victories, including the King George VI Chase (twice), the Irish Grand National, the Racing Post Chase and the Agfa Diamond Chase. Dunwoody said of him, “He was a fantastic horse to ride and without doubt the best horse I ever rode in my entire career.”. That’s quite some praise.

 

When Kicking King retired from racing in 2008, he had won 12 of his 28 races – including the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase (twice) – and amassed over £800,000 in total prize money. Owner Conor Clarkson said at the time, “…I have so many great memories and words cannot express my gratitude to Tom [Taafe, trainer]; he picked him out as a foal and did amazingly well with him.”

 

Kicking King is best known for his victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2005, but had actually been withdrawn by Tom Taafe two weeks ahead of the race on health grounds only to be reinstated later. In any event, the 7-year-old was backed into 4/1 favourite on the day and was at the front of the queue for many prominent tipster’s horse racing tips for that day. He duly produced an immaculate round of jumping under Barry Geraghty, taking up the running at the third last fence and staying on strongly to beat Take The Stand by 5 lengths. Geraghty said afterwards, “I was running away all the time, jumping brilliantly over the last three.”

 

It was actually third time lucky for Kicking King at the Cheltenham Festival, having finished second in the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2003 and second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2004. He injured a tendon when winning a second consecutive King George VI Chase – staged at Sandown while Kempton was being redeveloped – in 2005 and never won again, but his place in the Cheltenham Festival scrapbook was already guaranteed.

Sprinter Sacre, who was retired from racing in 2016, has the distinction of being the best steeplechaser since the days of Arkle and Flyingbolt in the 1960s. His Timeform Rating of 192p is still some way adrift of the 212 and 210 achieved by his illustrious predecessors, but 1lb ahead of Kauto Star and 5lb ahead of Desert Orchid.

 

Unbeaten in his first ten starts over fences – including the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham, the Melling Chase at Aintree and the Champion Chase at Punchestown in 2013 – Sprinter Sacre was pulled up in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on his reappearance at the start of the 2013/14 season. He was subsequently found to be suffering from an irregular heartbeat and missed the remainder of that season. Nevertheless he was assessed him to be second-highest rated horse in Anglo-Irish Jumps Classification history. His BHA rating of 188 topped only be Kauto Star. A few pounds on either of that pair with free bets ireland would go a long way!

 

When he did reappear, in January, 2015, he was beaten 3 lengths by Dodging Bullets in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. He started 9/4 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but was pulled up behind the same rival and subsequently beaten 6 lengths by Special Tiara in the Celebration Chase at Sandown on his only other start in 2014/15.

 

However, he was to end his career on a high, winning all four starts in 2015/16, including the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival for a second time. He was retired in November, 2016, after injuring a tendon on the gallops at home in Seven Barrows, Lambourn. Trainer Nicky Henderson said at the time, “We are the curators of this beautiful, very special racehorse.”

 

The highly talented, but ill fated, Vautour was one of the few horses to win three different races at the Cheltenham Festival. Prior to his untimely death, as a 7-year-old, in late 2016 after a freak accident, the son of top-class National Hunt sire Robin Des Champs had won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the JLT Novices’ Chase and the Ryanair Chase in successive years.

 

Vautour won 10 of 13 completed starts for trainer Willie Mullins, with all three defeats coming in Grade 1 company and, at the time of his death, was second favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the ante post lists. Who knows what might have happened, but Vautour was, without doubt, one of the most exciting chasers in training, with his best days almost certainly ahead of him. Regular jockey Ruby Walsh once said of him, “I love him. He has so much natural ability and is so straightforward.”