Favourite Gold Cups of the past

might as well throw in champion hurdles as well seeing as how that race is my fav NH race.

the greatest hurdle race I think I've seen was this, what a field of great horses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpuPIsj1CbI

when you consider how tough Monksfield was this is an awesome display of why Night Nurse was probably the best hurdler I've seen. Under pressure at the 2nd last with the others seeming to go be going better...Monksfield..the NH Giants Causeway...looked all over the winner...but the guts and heart inside NN just broke Monksfield that day.

the words ..simply awesome ..aren't really enough

will we ever see a horse like NN again?
 
My favourite has to be the Gallant The Dikler beating Pendil in 1973. I remember both horses very well when I was growing up but The Dikler was one of those few legends that turned up year after year at both Cheltenham and Aintree and deserved a slice of history.

http://manced43.multiply.com/video/item/2/1973_Cheltenham_Gold_Cup.avi

Favourite Champion Hurdle for me has to be the mighty Comedy Of Errors regaining his crown in 1975
http://manced43.multiply.com/video/item/35/1975_Champion_Hurdle.avi
 
Silver Buck remains rather underrated, I feel. I still hear more about Wayward Lad and his not winning the Gold Cup than I do about Silver Buck's achievements. I think he won 33 of his 45 races, which is a terrific record.

I was too young to remember him at the time but I caught up with his career through videos and books, and he was the sort who just did enough to win.

Sadly, I've never seen a race he had against Night Nurse at Haydock. My dad says it remains one of his favourite races. The Embassy Final, I think it was.

I can recommend the book Silver Buck by Andrew Hoyle. A nice read about a lovely horse.
 
Thanks it might not have been the greatest Gold Cup but it was a memorable race for me as a kid. The Champion Hurdle though im sure loads of people have fav ones from around that period for different reasons it truely was a golden era.
 
Some really good ones in there. I don't think mine was ever on You Tube.

I watched with huge horror in 1998 as See More Business who was my fav chaser then was carried out by McCoy pulling up a horse.

I thought that was it, what chance the horse could be brought back to his peak a year later?

Sure enough next season See More filled some places at the back of fields and began to look pretty dodgy. Meanwhile in another part of the racing world Go Ballistic had nearly died with colic and was being nursed back to health.

The forgotten horses of the race in 1999.

See More started 16/1 and Ballistic was something like 40/1 although I had him at 66/1.

Some people always believed them both to be two plodders but it remains my fav Gold Cup and I still love watching the video of those two battling it out up the hill. :)
 
Dessie, Dawn Run and Silver Buck would be the Gold Cups I enjoyed most from the 80s.

I had to wait a long time before a winner of the race got to me in the same way.
 
Katharine said:
Silver Buck remains rather underrated, I feel. I still hear more about Wayward Lad and his not winning the Gold Cup than I do about Silver Buck's achievements. I think he won 33 of his 45 races, which is a terrific record.

I was too young to remember him at the time but I caught up with his career through videos and books, and he was the sort who just did enough to win.

Sadly, I've never seen a race he had against Night Nurse at Haydock. My dad says it remains one of his favourite races. The Embassy Final, I think it was.

I can recommend the book Silver Buck by Andrew Hoyle. A nice read about a lovely horse.
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That race at Haydock..I vaguely remember listening in the betting shop as I backed NN whenever he ran..if its the same race ...Silver Buck won it..I don't know if they met more than once...I actually resented Silver Buck because he always beat horses I had backed...I never really latched onto SB..bizarre really when you look at what he won....he was prolific

feel a bit of research coming on

NN was one of the horses that really got me interested in racing..captured my imagination he did..superb chaser as well

there is a clip on youtube of him trying to give lots of weight to Bregawn at Donny I think..in the year Bregawn won the GC..think it was that year anyway.

crikey..when I think back to all those great tussles and we have hardly any to actually look at

ITV and the Beeb could make some money I'm sure from those old races..if they have them now of course..get some DVD's banged out.
 
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Silver Buck and Night Nurse had a few battles. The latter was actually favourite for the 1982 Gold Cup, but he was pulled up.

They were both fantastic horses, but I admit it was 'Bucket' I loved most. I got a shock when I learned of his sad end.
 
I hated Silver Buck because Night Nurse was my favourite! His story is epic and full of unlikely feats so I wont go into all that just now as this is a Gold Cup thread but the moment in The 1981 Gold Cup when he was beaten but then began to rally and looked like he might do it was typical Night Nurse. Bless him. In the context of his career it was a mighty performance.
 
Forget BBC, ITV and CH4 none of them give a toss about getting any revenue from this ive asked all 3 on numerous occations. I can tell you any footage pre 1983 flat or jump is very difficult to find and costs a minimum £30-00 per race to purchase from the companies that do supply it.
 
uncle goober said:
I hated Silver Buck because Night Nurse was my favourite! His story is epic and full of unlikely feats so I wont go into all that just now as this is a Gold Cup thread but the moment in The 1981 Gold Cup when he was beaten but then began to rally and looked like he might do it was typical Night Nurse. Bless him. In the context of his career it was a mighty performance.
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Thats the performace that for me stamped NN as not just the greatest hurdler but the greatest hurdler / chacer. Forget Dawn Run great mare that she was without the weight allowance she wouldnt have won either but NN came back from injury to run in that Gold Cup and to me was by then past his best.
 
thats similar to how I felt UG..NN ran in a KG as well didn't he?..Wayward Lad won it??..I'm just pulling memopries here so maybe wrong...NN was about 3rd at the last i my memory is correct

What happened to SB Katherine?

I must get some facts behind my crap memory.

My very first introduction to the world of racing was about 1964 when we used to stay at my Uncle's for a week...he won about 400 quid which was a bloody fotune and gave me a ten shilling note....a fortune to me for sure. He and my cousin used to back every Saturday...he must have been about 10 at the time..my uncle were a right bugger getting him betting at that age.

I used to love football..so every Saturday I had the results on when they came in on the printer thing they had on the beeb...I remember really hating it when they put the racing results on between waiting for the scores to come...this would be about 1970..one horse I do remember from those loathsome racing results.....was Persain War...who's name was indellibly etched on my memory...it seems in my mind now he must have run every week..I actually have a bit of a bond with that horse due to those interruptions..whenever I hear his name it takes me back to those times on Saturday teatimes....wish I were back there now :)
 
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jumps fan ed06 said:
Thats the performace that for me stamped NN as not just the greatest hurdler but the greatest hurdler / chacer. Forget Dawn Run great mare that she was without the weight allowance she wouldnt have won either but NN came back from injury to run in that Gold Cup and to me was by then past his best.
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I remember backing NN on his come back..backed him everytime anyway..it was just before xmas..I think..he was 14/1 that day

like you say..to say he had been out for a while his exploits over fences were amazing

I don't really remember any other really top hurdler that managed to get to the level NN did over the big ones
 
Silver Buck was still in training when he got spooked and ran into a wall. An awful end for him. He was quite a nervous horse.

Night Nurse did run in a King George, which Wayward Lad won. Silver Buck was also in the race but he 'stopped quickly', according to Michael Dickinson. He was found to have a throat infection.
 
jumps fan ed06 said:
Forget Dawn Run great mare that she was without the weight allowance she wouldnt have won either
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The winning distances would support that argument but I don't agree. It looked hard for her in the Gold Cup, and Jonjo certainly whipped all kinds out of her but I'm in the camp that believes she would have won off levels.

I've seen stats defied at Cheltenham in the last couple of years but her double could remain unique in my lifetime at least.

She was a smashing mare.
 
jumps fan ed06 said:
Forget BBC, ITV and CH4 none of them give a toss about getting any revenue from this ive asked all 3 on numerous occations. I can tell you any footage pre 1983 flat or jump is very difficult to find and costs a minimum £30-00 per race to purchase from the companies that do supply it.
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thats a shame

some heartbreaking stuff re the beeb

I particularly hate the way the beeb squandered our musical archive in the mid late sixties by taping over some great stuff..wonder if that is also the case with some of the racing archive

Katherine, found a copy of that book on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HORSE-RACING:...ItemQQimsxZ20090313?IMSfp=TL090313123004r7726

I will have a dabble at that I think
 
It is an interesting read. I think Michael Dickinson rated Silver Buck as the best of his staying chasers, even if Timeform did not. I agree with him.

Thanks for the link.

Pas Seul. There's a horse I remember my granddad telling me about when I was a kid. He was there to see him win his Gold Cup.

Also, I don't know if you still bother with videos or not but you can get Cheltenham: Horses and Heroes second hand through Amazon. It covers the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle up to 1990. Not whole races but good finishes nonetheless. I know a few people have bought it and transferred it to DVD.
 
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I've just ordered that VHS tape off Amazon...31p...postage is 2.69 though :D

you have to laugh

talking of Persian War..if anyone knows much about his career I would be interested in hearing..anyone that remembers..articles etc
 
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