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.”
