Ekbalco

bigfow

bigfow

At the Start
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
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Hi Guys

Could anyone tell me about a horse called ekbalco, i think i was very young (born 1975) when it ran. My old grandad used to always put 5p 10p bets on for me, and was it killed I'm sure i was crying my eyes out and it has always stuck with me.
 
Ekbalco was a mighty horse. A very good two mile hurdler trained by Roger Fisher in the early eighties.

A strong traveller who would make smooth headway to make his challenge, he won most of the top hurdle races in England but could only manage 3rd in The Champion. He won the Fighting Fifth, Bula and Christmas Hurdles before being killed in a fall. Very sad.
 
He was a fine horse. "Gypsy" Dave Goulding had the ride and employed exaggerated waiting tactics to great success. One of his finest performances was in defeat under top weight in a Schweppes Gold Trophy when he was just pipped by Donegal Prince (John Francome) who was receiving lumps.
 
Sounds like a right good horse it was one of the first horses to get me into racing, along with greasepaint and gritter in the national. Was ekbalco`s colours blue and yellow.
thanks anyway uncle goober
 
Loved Ekbalco; it almost broke my heart when he broke his shoulder at Newcastle, especially as he was launching his customary late challenge to overhaul Gaye Brief. Jonjo rode him that day and was in tears coming back to the weighing room.
 
From what I remember of that race which I watched on CH4 his fall was not a particularly bad 1 but as soon as GG said that he was still on the ground you knew it was bad. He was a very talented hurdler but not quite a champion in my opinion but certainly good enough to be placed in most Champion Hurdles. He to me for those of you with longer memories was a bit like Birds Nest in that everything needed to go his way and Newcastle in November rather than Cheltenham in March was deffinately his time.
 
bigfow said:
Sounds like a right good horse it was one of the first horses to get me into racing, along with greasepaint and gritter in the national. Was ekbalco`s colours blue and yellow.
thanks anyway uncle goober
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I thought he had black and gold colours but I could be wrong?
 
Ekbalco.jpg
 
if my memory serves...his first signal to being a gud un was a real easy win in the fighting fifth..i also remember the schweppes really well..it was a close finish indeed..francome at his best on Donegal

shame we never saw his full career
 
Is it just me or was the paddock full of great big beasts like that only 10/12 years ago? An old-fashioned chasing type seems such a rarity now that people comment on their size in the paddock.
 
I know what you mean, when we were stood next to the paddock at the tingle creek meeting you had to ask yourself how some of them manage to get to the other side of the fences!
 
rorydelargy said:
Loved Ekbalco; it almost broke my heart when he broke his shoulder at Newcastle, especially as he was launching his customary late challenge to overhaul Gaye Brief. Jonjo rode him that day and was in tears coming back to the weighing room.
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One of the horses that really got me interested in racing.
 
jumps fan ed06 said:
From what I remember of that race which I watched on CH4 his fall was not a particularly bad 1 but as soon as GG said that he was still on the ground you knew it was bad. He was a very talented hurdler but not quite a champion in my opinion but certainly good enough to be placed in most Champion Hurdles. He to me for those of you with longer memories was a bit like Birds Nest in that everything needed to go his way and Newcastle in November rather than Cheltenham in March was deffinately his time.
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Well Newcastle in Nov wasn't really Ekbalco ' s time at all ,he fell twice and the last time was fatal ,Birds Nest was definitely and won in April
 
Blast from the past,
Trained by Roger Fisher this Deep Run gelding came to my attention when winning a big field four year old handicap hurdle at Newbury late March/early April at 33/1 ridden by "gypsy" Dave Goulding having been last turning into the straight.
The rest, as they say is history.
 
When I first got back into racing I read about Ekbalco’s death in John Oakseys wonderful book ‘ On Racing’. He was a beautiful writer and it was very moving.
 
Coach miguel said:
Fine horse in a great era for hurdlers. Always there or thereabouts and was chuffed when he had his wins. Morley Street a similar type.
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Would put Morley Street in a different league -Champion Hurdle winner,Breeders Cup Chase winner,beat a Leger winner on the flat and narrowly beaten in a Doncaster Cup.
I am nearly ready to forgive him for doing me for the placepot when he was 4th in the Sun Alliance Hurdle.
 
Ekbalco? Don't talk to me about him. My late friend Tony Charlton was riding Raymondo in the Imperial Cup when David Goulding came from last to first to spoil my day

Later I had been to Nottingham to back one of Mick Lamberts horses which duly won and on the same card Gay Brief ran and I was really taken by him.

He was 12/1 for the Champion Hurdle with William Hill and I decided to have a life changing bet on him.

Tony and I had spent the weekend working putting new roods on some of the boxes his yard at Belwwood Cottages when the subject of Gay Brief and the Champion Hurdle came up. Tony was a great judge and seldom got things wrong but I'll never forget his words. "Your very keen on him (Gay Brief) aren't you? Jonjo thinks Ekbalco is a certainty in that"

I switched my bet and took 3/1 ante post with William Hill who ran like a stuffed pig and Gay Brief of course hacked up😬 So having stuffed me twice please understand if I don't praise the horse 🤒
 
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