Flyingbolt is one of two horses – the other being Arkle, coincidentally also trained in Co. Dublin by Tom Dreaper – whose names are spoken in hushed, reverential tones in National Hunt racing circles. In fact, it’s rare that the name of Flyingbolt is spoken at all because, despite achieving the second highest Timeform rating ever, he’s been largely forgotten.
For the uninitiated, Timeform ratings are, supposedly, the definitive assessment of the ability of a racehorse, expressed in Imperial pounds. Flyingbolt achieved a Timeform rating of 210, just 2lb inferior to Arkle, but 18lb superior to Sprinter Sacre, the third highest rated horse of all time.
Flyingbolt was the product of the unlikely union between the 1946 Derby winner, Airborne, who was supposedly impotent and a 19-year-old mare called Eastlock, who was supposedly barren. He was described by regular jockey Pat Taafe as a horse that would “kick the eye out of your head.” Lovely.
During his first three seasons under National Hunt Rules, Flyingbolt won 16 of his 18 races, including three different races at the Cheltenham Festival, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 1964, the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 1965 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1966. Indeed, following his victory, at odds of 1/5, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, he turned out the following day to finish third in the Champion Hurdle.
In the summer of 1966, Flybolt contracted equine brucellosis, a highly contagious, recurring disease caused by direct contact with infected cattle, and was never the same horse again. Despite being two years younger than Arkle and racing on for five more seasons, he never fulfilled the potential of his early career and failed to feature, at all, in a poll of all-time favourite horses conducted by the Racing Post a few years ago.
