Special Horses

Grasshopper said:
I look forward to Trackside recounting Harchibald's four Champion Hurdle victories. :D
Click to expand...

You utter bastard. :lol:

Though history subsequently proved you correct*, my abiding memory is of an animal that could cross a hurdle so efficiently that you didn't even know you had left the ground, and quicken like greased lightening. His home work - as I was all too keen to assert at the time - was little short of extraordinary. It was an utter privilege to have been associated with Harchi. The great shame was that, in contrast to the 'traditional' view of Harchibald as a hound (to which I still take grave exception!), he never truly got a strongly-run two miles.

*Of course your view is substantially reinforced by the great Osana... ;)
 
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]NIGHT NURSE[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]b g (1971) by Falcon - Florence Nightingale (Above Suspicion)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Breeder: Cloghran Stud[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Trainer: Peter Easterby[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Owner: Reg Spencer[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Races: 64 Wins: 32[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prizemoney: £132,000[/FONT]
from http://www.famousracehorses.co.uk/nightnurse.htm​



Remembering Night Nurse in his heyday is recalling a horse at the height of his powers. A jumping icon, whose legendary achievements in nine seasons of top-class racing made him a household name which was never forgotten throughout 15 years of retirement. But in November 1998, just two months short of his 28th birthday, the former Ryedale superstar was laid to rest in familiar surroundings at Great Habton.​

Peter Easterby, who bought him as a yearling, trained him so brilliantly, and cared for him in retirement, had this extra-special horse buried in a paddock near his house.

"There's a space left beside him for Sea Pigeon, when he eventually goes," revealed Easterby, referring to his other dual Champion Hurdle winner, now aged 29

Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon were leading lights in that golden age of hurdling in the 1970s when horses like Monksfield Bird's Nest, Flash Imp and Dramatist were thrillingly treading the boards of the National Hunt stage. Twice, in 1976 and 1977, Night Nurse wore the title crown as the Champion Hurdle winner, and, on both occasions, was voted National Hunt Horse of the Year. It was a richly deserved accolade. In his first season as champion, he was remarkably unbeaten in eight races, a roll of honour which included the Scottish and Welsh Champion Hurdles, not to mention the Irish Sweeps Hurdle. And, having triumphantly defended his title the following season, he went on to Aintree to finish in a dead-heat with Monksfield in the Templegate Hurdle in what is still remembered by many purists as being one of the greatest hurdle races of all time.

"It was a hell of a race," recalls Peter Easterby, who has no doubt what made Night Nurse so special.

"He was a natural jumper - brilliant from the first time we ever schooled him. And he was a very brave horse, hard and brave," he declared.

Easterby recalls with a chuckle how he had struggled to find an owner for Night Nurse after he'd bought him as a yearling for 1100 guineas. "I couldn't sell him to anyone. The first seven people I showed him to turned him down. And," he jokes, "I only sold him to the eighth because he couldn't see very well and wore thick glasses!"

Night Nurse subsequently changed hands again being fortuitously bought by York-based Reg Spencer just before he switched from Flat to hurdles, as a three-year-old. "Reg bought him the week before he won his first hurdle race at Market Rasen," said Easterby.

Night Nurse, who was looked after at home, and ridden almost daily by Keith Stone, then Easterby's head lad, was partnered throughout his hurdling career by Paddy Broderick. After his hurdling career finished, Night Nurse went on to scale further heady heights over fences, again reaching the top of the tree.

"The one mistake I made was in not switching him to fences earlier than I did," admits Easterby. "I don't know why I didn't. But he missed one year, maybe even two, when he could have been chasing."

That said, Night Nurse proved to be a formidable performer over the major obstacles. In 1981, in the hands of Alan Brown, he only just failed to become the first horse to complete the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double when he finished second in the Blue Riband of steeplechasing to Little Owl - somewhat ironically also trained by Peter Easterby

Delighted, though he obviously was to win the Gold Cup, Easterby would have loved to see Night Nurse, then a ten-year-old, as the victor.

"He was running out of time, whereas Little Owl was only a seven-year-old and, you would have thought, would have had other chances to win it," he recalls. "But it's funny how it goes, Little Owl never won another race afterwards."

Night Nurse, who was retired on New Year's Day 1983 on his 12th birthday, ran in 64 races over jumps, winning a remarkable 32 and just over £132,000 in prize money. Happy and content in retirement, he remained in good health right up until the end.

"He'd been grand," confirmed Easterby. "He was eating his head off, and he'd have a roll out in the paddock every day of his life. But then he got a bad stoppage, and the kindest thing was to put him down."

One of jump racing's legends, Night Nurse is gone, but will never be forgotten. Not by anyone who followed and supported him, and certainly not by Peter Easterby.

"He was a great horse, who had a great life," he said, before adding his own tender touch of gratitude. 'And we had a great life because of him..."

A Century of Hurdlers (from the Racing Post)

Several horses have claims to the title 'greatest hurdler' but Night Nurse's are the strongest because he was the best during the golden age of hurdling. He won the Champion Hurdle in 1976 and 1977, proving himself superior to two other dual champions, Monksfield and Sea Pigeon (his stablemate).

He was unbeaten in 1975/76 in eight races, including the Champion Hurdle and its equivalents in Ireland (Sweeps Hurdle), Scotland and Wales, and set the seal on his greatness with two brilliant displays in the spring of 1977. First he won the Champion Hurdle again, leading for most of the way and battling on to beat Monksfield by two lengths, with Dramatist, Sea Pigeon and Birds Nest next.

Each of them would have been a worthy winner in an average year, but this was the highest-quality Champion Hurdle ever run. In Liverpool's Templegate Hurdle 17 days later, Night Nurse gave 6lb to Monksfield and dead-heated with him in an epic duel in which both horses gave their all, racing stride for stride from the third-last. Night Nurse's display that day was the greatest single performance by any hurdler in the history of the sport. After being sent over fences, only his stablemate Little Owl prevented him winning the Gold Cup in 1981.


One of the greats (From the Racing Post, November 1998)
PETER EASTERBY would not figure on the list of the five million most sentimental men in Britain, but he, more than anyone, knows that one of jumpings' great post-war lights was finally dimmed yesterday. "He had a great life and we had a great life because of him," was Easterby's bluntly eloquent tribute yesterday, and the old warrior now lies in the paddock at Great Habton, with the adjacent plot reserved for the only other horse who is enough of a hero to share the same ground-Sea Pigeon.

It is tempting and all too easy to fall into the sentimentalist traps when a horse like Night Nurse dies. All the old nostalgic cliches get an airing and the rose-tinted spectacles of retrospection are pulled firmly on to the nose. But this big brute of a dual champion hurdler and top-class chaser deserves all the approbation that comes his way. He indeed made Peter Easterby's life great, but his wider achievement was to make countless lesser racing lives just that little bit greater-up and down the country there will be folk this morning with a particular memory of the old-so-and-so, whether they saw him in the damp of a winter parade-ring doing his trademark impersonation of a comatose sheep, from the cold, stone steps of the stands, or merely heard his deeds and let their imaginations do the work in the smoke-laden fug of their local bookies.

It is not nostalgic indulgence to say Night Nurse cast his net in seriously stormy waters. He extracted the teeth of his two Champion Hurdles in one of the vintage periods of the post-war era-for once it is true to say that they were indeed "giants in those days".

He took the crown in 1976, beating Bird's Nest and Flash Imp. Bird's Nest, then six, was still good enough to finish third four years later to Sea Pigeon and Monksfield, and Bob Turnell went to his grave still mystified that he never won the race; while Flash Imp had finished second the year before to another dual colossus in Comedy Of Errors.

In 1977, Night Nurse beat Monksfield and the hellish useful Dramatist, who picked a bad decade in which to ply his trade, and in 1978 Night Nurse finished third to Monksfield when the tungsten pony won the first of his two victories over Sea Pigeon, whose hours of glory were not to come until 1980 and '81.

Old gimmers can argue until their zimmers buckle about which of half a dozen contenders was the greatest modern hurdler and the answer matters not. But to get a true understanding of Night Nurse's stature you have to acknowledge that he was pitched in against ferocious competition during an exceptional era. Lazy at home-"he couldn't beat me on the gallops," Easterby once said-he was a tiger on the course where he loved to be up there. More often than not he was a repeller of challengers rather than a reeler-in of those in front, and his hurdling was awesome, breaking the heart of many who thought they had got to him over the last two.

HE WAS admirably served by Paddy Broderick, for whom the term `mounted policeman' might well have been coined, and the sight of the pair in action sits indelibly in the mind-a team of horse and rider that could never be mistaken for any other. Perhaps what the public loved about Night Nurse most was his sheer indomitability. From the age of four to his retirement at 12 he gave his all, and in 1981 he put up one of the benchmark displays of guts allied to ability when second to Little Owl in the Gold Cup.

A typically huge jump three from home kept him just the master of Little Owl and Silver Buck, but that pair were three ahead of him at the second last and the old boy looked cooked and carded for a fading third.

But, as ever, when Alan Brown asked-and he could ask-Night Nurse found somewhere deeper to dig, and fought every foot up that vile hill to get within a length and a half of Little Owl, with Silver Buck 10 behind him. Easterby will always be nagged by the feeling that he should have switched the big horse to fences earlier, wondering whether, had he done so, it would have been Night Nurse rather than Dawn Run to be the first name chiselled into the granite roll of honour reserved for winners of both of the Festival's holy grails. There have been greater horses, but very few in my lifetime, and still fewer who could match Night Nurse for sheer honest endeavour and longevity at the top.

To jumps lovers under 30 he will be little more than a name in the books or dated television footage. But to those of us sliding inexorably into middle age he was something that burned hot on the coldest afternoons, and we don't expect to see many more of his ilk before the Reaper comes to make the ultimate deduction of everything in the pound.

Hallowed ground, indeed, up Great Habton way.

1976 Champion Hurdle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEy2OwN75SU

1977 Champion Hurdle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_61A6ifwCM&feature=related

1977 Templegate [Aintree] Hurdle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2Ai77voXE

1981 Gold Cup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VQm5yuB1dI&feature=related

1982 Mandarin Handicap Chase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JFYuT1swaY

1982 Pennine Chase Doncaster Night Nurse & Midnight Court
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lch1fytjnEk

1982 Peter Marsh Chase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLt_1ttrnQI

Tribute to Night Nurse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9DiJY-KL7w
 
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DANCING BRAVE
b h Lyphard - Navajo Princess
Foaled: 1983
Breeder: Glen Oak Farm, Kentucky
Trainer: Guy Harwood
Owner: Khalid Abdulla
from http://famousracehorses.co.uk/dancingbrave.htm​

The 1986 2,000 Guineas, Eclipse, King George and Arc winner died in Japan on Monday 3rd August of a suspected heart attack, aged 16. He had been standing as a stallion at the Shizunai Stallion Station on the Northern island of Hokkaido since 1991. A spokesman for the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association said: "It was very sudden and he seemed fine the day before. We are not sure of the cause and are waiting the results of an autopsy." Dancing Brave's brilliant career, which saw him run eight times at three, earned him an International Classification mark of 141, the highest given to any horse since official ratings were introduced in 1977. Guy Harwood, who trained Dancing Brave throughout his glorious career, was yesterday unstinting in his praise. "He was an outstanding horse, probably the best we've seen for a long time," he said.

Pat Eddery, who rode Dancing Brave to a famous victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe against one of the best fields assembled for any race in Europe, described him as "one of the best horses of all time". He added: "He had a wonderful temperament and was a beautiful mover-in every way he was a fantastic horse to ride. It's very sad-horses like him only come once in a lifetime."

Dancing Brave will be remembered as one of the greatest three-year-olds not to have won the Derby. He finished runner-up to Shahrastani in the premier Classic in 1986 under a ride from Greville Starkey which was widely criticised at the time. Starkey, who had boldly and uncharacteristically declared his mount to be "bombproof" before the Derby, had only three horses behind him as they came down Tattenham Hill.

Dancing Brave finished extremely strongly in the last two furlongs but was unable by half a length to peg back the winner, much to the dismay of connections as well as the many punters who had made him the 2-1 favourite. Starkey later lost the ride on Dancing Brave to Eddery. Dancing Brave was owned by Khalid Abdullah, whose racing manager, Teddy Beckett, said yesterday: "Prince Khalid was saddened to hear of the death of Dancing Brave, who he considered to be his most outstanding racehorse."

Geoff Lawson, Harwood's assistant, described the son of Lyphard yesterday as "extra, extra special", adding: "He was a brilliant animal with a superb temperament-the sort of horse who made going to work in the mornings something special for everyone in the yard." Retired to stud at Dalham Hall in Newmarket in 1987, having been valued at pounds 14 million, Dancing Brave survived a near-fatal attack of Marie's Disease, a condition which is rare in horses.

Brilliant and bewildering: That The Brave did not win the Derby niggles and irritates no less now than it did then

Alastair Down remembers a giant of the Turf

AS FAMOUS for being beaten as being brilliant, Dancing Brave was one of that ultra-select band against whom tens of thousands of other horses can be measured and virtually every single one be found wanting. Adulation and nostalgia often intermarry when racing people look back on the lighthouse-beacon horses of their lifetimes-thus you can almost carbon-date those enthusiasts whose pulses were quickened by Ribot, Sea- Bird, Nijinsky, Mill Reef or the Brigadier.

But to the post-Kennedy generation, aged 23 and younger when Dancing Brave scythed down every rival bar one in Europe in 1986, he will always be the one that others have to knock off his perch. That he did not win the Derby has never affected his status, but remains one of those rankling injustices of the Turf that niggles and irritates no less now than it did then. There are horses given a lot to do, too much to do, and asked the impossible. On Derby day, the impossible was demanded and proved to be just that. I can distinctly remember the sense of incredulity when watching the race, the mounting disbelief as the disaster unfolded, and the sheer brilliance of the inevitably unavailing effort. Then came the immediate sense of waste that Dancing Brave had been denied his due reward, the knowledge that the chance of Derby glory had been squandered and that the door was now slammed shut.

Those who saw Brigadier Gerard humbled at York were probably more amazed, but the sheer, inexplicable Act-of-God freakishness of that afternoon somehow made it easier to accept. You could file it under "just one of those things", a mystery on a par with the virgin birth or anyone liking prunes. But Dancing Brave's Derby defeat was all too easy to understand and left everyone with a sense that here was a wrong waiting to be righted. And that is what made his victory in an exceptionally strong Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe such a gladdening occasion. The joy had nothing to do with the fact that he was British, that he was favourite, that Pat was up, or that the then-mighty Harwood merited it. This was justice done, vindication and palpable proof of searing superiority. This, above all, was what Dancing Brave and his devoted fans deserved-the wrong put to rights in the race that matters most of all.

AT one stage valued at pounds 14 million, Dancing Brave was bought for $200,000 by James Delahooke, then at his zenith and pre-eminent among judges of the yearling. His association with Guy Harwood was spectacularly successful and it remains a matter of both curiosity and regret that the driven figure of Harwood no longer chooses to be found on the racing map. Time was when the first indications of the year's prospects from deepest Sussex were the most eagerly sought pieces of information in the game. And unlike many a top yard, they usually understood to the ounce what they had in their charge. They were not infallible at Harwood's, but for a few years they were close to invincible.

And 'The Brave', as some dubbed him, was the quintessence of their success. With an action as smooth as cream across strawberries, Dancing Brave had a sound-as-a-pound outlook and a turn of foot that elevated him from the merely excellent to the undoubtedly exceptional. There was about his races a sense of real excitement as you waited for him to be unleashed. He carried with him the imminence of something special. And on his greatest day, at Longchamp, he was a sight to behold, cutting down a field of real class acts as if they were so much equine rag, tag and bobtail. Dancing Brave's passing is a matter for regret, but the memories of an exceptional colt in the full wrath of his dash to the line will not go with him.

FACTFILE
Foaled: 1983, Glen Oak Farm, USA.
By Lyphard out of Navajo Princess
Sold: $200,000 as a yearling in 1984
Owner: Khalid Abdullah
Trainer: Guy Harwood, Pulborough, Sussex
Stud career: 1987-1990 Newmarket (valued at pounds 14 million) 1991-9 Japan (exported for reported pounds 3 million)
Best progeny: Commander In Chief, Wemyss Bight, White Muzzle
Racing record 1985

Dorking Stakes, Sandown (ridden by G Starkey) WON
Soham House Stakes, Newmarket (G Starkey) WON

1986
Craven (G3), Newmarket (G Starkey) WON
2000 Guineas (G1), Newmarket (G Starkey) WON
Derby (G1), Epsom (G Starkey) 2nd
Eclipse (G1), Sandown (G Starkey) WON
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond (G1), Ascot (Pat Eddery) WON
Select Stakes (G3), Goodwood (G Starkey) WON
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), Longchamp (Pat Eddery) WON
Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), Santa Anita (Pat Eddery) 4th


vThe Legend called Dancing Brave-foaled in 1983

In 1984 James Delahookee picked a colt by Lyphard out of Nvajo Princess, on behalf of Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia for only $. 200,000 at the Keeneland Summer Yearling Sale.Very few people could predict at that time that this colt would emerge as a superstar. The colt was to be called Dancing Brave who went on to become one of the 20th Century's racing legends.

His sire Lyphard, was an outstanding miler by the great Northern Dancer, the greatest sire if the Century.Lyphard, had already produced stalwarts like 1979 Arc winner Three Troikas as well as 1978 Prix Vermeille winner, Dancing Maid.On his dam side Nvajo Princess had won 8 grade races while her sire Drone produced 44 Stakes winners. These included Lady Capulet the Irish 1000 Guineas winner.

In 1986 this colt's performances were head and shoulders above any European racehorse and he became the first horse to poll all 27 votes for the horse of the year since Brigadier Gerard.He had become the first horse to win the 2000guineas,the Eclipse Stakes, the King George 6th and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. (He was robbed of historic 5 big race wins in the Epsom Derby as a result of wrong judgement of the Jockey that cost him the race) The colt simply displayed phenomenal acceleration. He would not explode in the manner of most good horse and would gradually lengthen his stride to reach his optimum pace, reaching low to the ground. Once he had lengthened to his fullest stride he
would simply fly past the opposition like a jet plane. He also possessed the smoothest possible action and was blessed with an extremely sound temperament. His lad Billy Graham stated that he had a most placid and amenable nature. Above all he had the will to win, the quality that differentiated and outstanding athlete from an average one.

Dancing Brave was schooled at Guy Harwood's stable in Pulborough.Harwood started preparing the colt as a two year old in May and in August 1985 started a rigorous training programme for his colt. Dancing Brave made a winning debut in the Dorking Stakes trouncing the opposition by 3 lengths. He followed this with a victory in the Soham House Stakes.He accelerated brilliantly furlong and a half from home to defeat Northern Amethyst and Lassagne.However at the end of the season Dancing Brave was rated 11lb.below Huntingdale, the William Hill Dewhurst Stakes winner. As a 3 year old in the early part of the season Harwood noticed the great potential this colt possessed. In the morning workouts he was simply outclassing high-class older horses. His constitution had also undergone a remarkable change from what he was as a two-year-old.

As a three-year-old he made a winning debut as a three-year-old, despite facing heavy going. Syllvene set the pace from Illuminer and Flying Dancer with Dancing Brave lying in 5th Place. With 2 furlongs to go the colt flew past the leaders to win by 2 and a half lengths. Dancing Brave was now firm favorite for the 2000 Guineas.his chief opponents were Huntingdale, the Dewhurst Stakes winner and Green Desert, the season's subsequent champion sprinter. Hail to Roberto set the pace from Green Desert till 3 furlongs from home where Green Desert took up the running. Upto this point Dancing Brave lay a handy fourth. With 2 furlongs to go Dancing Brave quickened in magnificent style to win by 3 lengths from Green Desert.

Dancing Brave now became a firm 5-2 favorite for the Epsom Derby. A lot of racing experts could not believe a horse possessing the colt's speed could stay the Derby course.

In the Blue Riband Dancing Brave was settled three from rear for most of the race. Normrue set the pace followed by Aracara, Miss Naas, Faraway Dancer and Vice-Chancellor, with Shahrastani tucked in 5th place. Upto Tattenham Corner the placing's remained the same with Dancing Brave still lying 3 from the rear and more than 12 lengths behind the leader. On entering the straight Swinburn improved Shahrastani's position snatching the lead 2 furlongs from home. On entering the Straight Greville Starkey urged Dancing Brave; but the colt took time to settle into his stride. With 2 furlongs to go Dancing Brave produced a devastating burst, perhaps never witnessed in the Epsom Derby before running the last furlong in a record 11.2 seconds. However, tragically he failed to catch Shahrastani by a neck.

There was no doubt in my mind and that of several racing experts that the colt had been kept far too behind the leaders at Tattenham Corner to stand any chance of winning. It was almost certainly the error on the part of the jockey that the Brave lost his unbeaten tag in the Derby.He was possibly the unluckiest loser or the best horse not to win the Blue Riband.

3 weeks later Dancing Brave was to run in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.Here he faced Trypitch, the champion racemare who had been placed in 18 Group one races all over the World including dual Coronation Cup victories as well as wins in the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Champion Stakes.His other opponents were Teleprompter, the Arlington Million Winner and Bold Arrangement, the Kentucky Derby winner, the previous year. Ground Harper set the pace from Bold Arrangement for most of
the race with Dancing Brave settled comfortably in 5th place. Triptych lay in the rear till the straight. On entering the Straight Bold Arrangement seized the lead and 2 furlongs from home Trypitch came with a devastating run to snatch the lead with Dancing Brave on the inside. Greville switched his colt now to the outside to give him room and urged him. Dancing Brave effortlessly burst into the lead and spared 4 lengths to Trypitch at the winning post. It was a magnificent sight for racegoers to watch this colt's great acceleration and effortless strides. It was reminiscent of Mill Reef beating Caro, by the same margin, 15 years ago. The colt's trainer Guy Harwood was now convinced that he was the best horse he had ever trained.

In the King George 6th and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, Europe's premiere race for middle distance horses, Shahrastani started favorite at odds of 11 to 10 after a smashing 8-length Irish Derby victory. Dancing Brave was second Favourite.The other principal opponents were Trypitch, Shardari, the 1986 Champion Older horse and Petoski, the 1985 Champion middle -distance horse.(The previous King George Winner). Bold Inn and Vouch Safe set the pace a long way ahead of Dahistan
(pacemaker for Shahrastani), Shardari, Shahrastani, with Dancing Brave three from the rear alongside Petoski.Trypitch lay last struggling to cope with the pace. On coming into the straight Dahistan had taken the lead followed by Shahrastani with Shardari making a challenge on the inside .A furlong and a half from home Shardari had moved into the lead at which point Pat Eddery pushed Dancing Brave.After settling into his stride the colt gave an electrifying burst and like a flash of lightning passed Shardari and appeared to be sailing for home. However Shardari came back at him and at the line Dancing Brave had 3/4 of a winning margin to spare. However the acceleration the colt displayed a furlong from home made his performance compare with great Champions of the past like Ribot, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Shergar.With the possible exception of Dahlia no horse perhaps won a race coming from so far behind. Pat Eddery had let the colt of too early in the Straight and thus the colt's energy was not conserved in the manner it ought to have been. (The mile and a half was his limit) Shahrastani finished 5th, 7 lengths behind the winner, well and truly beaten.

As a preliminary to the Arc Dancing Brave was entered in the Goodwood Stakes. He lay in 4th place for most of the race and with 2 furlongs to go Greville asked his mount to respond. Dancing Brave overtook the long-time leader Ozo Paulo to win by merciless 12 lengths. The colt had broken the course record.

That year the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe had the most competitive Arc field since Sea Bird's Arc Field in 1965.Bering, had won the Prix du Jockey Club by 4 lengths in record timeand was rated the best French Colt to have raced for a very long time. His jockey Gary Moore considered him invincible. Archenango, the German Champion was unbeaten and was one of the best horses to have run in Germany for a long time. Shahrastani was an above average Dual Derby winner. In Trypitch and Shardari, there were 2 remarkable older horses. Darara, the Prix Vermeille winner too was participating. Thus it was the assembling of the true Kings of the Royal Sport.Dancing Brave started as the 11to 10 favorite. In his morning workouts he was simply blazing away like a truly great athlete, outpacing opponents after conceding a stone.

As the race started Darara was the first to lead from Baby Turk, Nemain, Dahistan and AracaraAfter 2 furlongs Archenango stormed into the lead with Dancing Brave lying 3 from rear tracking Bering.As the race progressed Baby Turk went on to set the pace from Nemain, Archenango, Darara, Shahrastani and Shardari.On entering the straight Baby Turk led from Nemain with Shahrastani improving on the Inside and Shardari improving alongside the leaders. At this point Dancing Brave was still 3 fom the rear A furlong and a half from home Shardari seized the lead with Bering showing considerable improvement. Now, Pat Eddery urged his mount. At first the colt lengthened his stride to reach his optimum pace. Then he unleashed a devastating burst of speed, perhaps never witnessed before in the history of the Arc.

He simply flew like a jet plane passed Bering, in the last 100 yards to win by a length and a half.smashing the course record. He ran the last furlong in 10.8 sec's perhaps the fastest ever in the history of the race. The time he thundered past the leaders was reminiscent of a bullet out of a gun. Dancing Brave had now become the equivalent of a Muhammad Ali or a Pele to Flat Racing.On that day he ran like a true equine machine and gained a permanent place in racing's all-time greats like Sea Bird, Ribot, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard and Nijinsky.On returning home Dancing Brave got a tremendous reception -that of a superstar.

He was next to run in the Breeders championship in America, the equivalent ofa world Championship in Flat Racing.Dancing Brave was such a superstar that it was the question of by how much he would win, rather than whether he would win. His trainer described him to be in great Shape. It appeared that nothing could stop the emperor from seizing the Crown, who now had the image of a Hollywood Star.

Alas, he could only finish fourth. After3 furlongs he met with an eye injury when changing from the dirt to the grass track. The turns there were also unfavorable to the great horse, differing greatly from the European equivalents. These 2 factors considerably went against the star who finished behind Manila, Theatrical and Estrapade. Another reason could have been a long and arduous racing season and the fatigue of travelling.

Surely Dancing Brave was not his true Self. It was a sad ending for the great horse as well as a sad spectacle for racegoers to witness a true superstar defeated in that manner.

Dancing Brave was retired to the Dalham Hall Stud in England for 14 million pounds. He was later exported to Japan.in 1993 he performed the outstanding feat of producing the Epsom Derby winner, Commander-In -Chief, the IrishOaks winner Wemyss Bight and the Italian Derby winner White Muzzle.However in Japan he fell considerably ill contracting a disease and eventually died in 1999.It was a great loss to racing.
How did Dancing Brave compare with the all -time Great horses like Sea Bird, Ribot, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Shergar? In my view, like several experts only Mill Reef, Sea Bird and Ribot can rate above him as middle-distance runners. Sea Bird's beating of great horses like Reliance, Diatome, Alinin, Meadow Court etc. by a devastating 6 lengths in the 1965 Arc definitely put's him ahead. Ribot scores over Dancing Brave for displaying the fitness and consistency he showed being unbeaten in 16 starts in 3 seasons and winning 3 big races out of his own country when travelling for horses was almost unknown.

Although Dancing Brave beat equally good opposition with the same degree of authority as Mill Reef as a three year old, Mill Reef was vastly superior as a two year old and his Prix Ganay performance as a 4 year old was amongst the best victories ever scored in Europe. (Dancing Brave never raced as a 4-year-old) Mill Reef's outclassing of horses like Pistol Packer and Caro by considerable distances matched Dancing Brave's victories. Only if Dancing Brave had raced as a 4 year old could it have been judged whether he was equal, better or inferior to Mill Reef, and thus Mill Reef has to be given the benefit of the doubt. Although the Brave did not emulate Nijinsky by winning the Triple Crown, or beat Shergar's record-breaking Epsom Derby performance I rate him superior as a middle -distance horse to the two greats. Shergar never faced horses like Bering (Timeform rating of 136) and Shahrastani (Timeform rating of 135) and I even rate Trypitch far superior to Madam Gay (Shergar beat Madam Gay in the King George by 4 lengths- the same margin Dancing Brave beat Trypitch) as superior to Madam Gay.True, one must give credit to Shergar for his record -breaking Derby win at Epsom but he still did not display the breath taking acceleration Dancing Brave produced against the type of opposition Dancing Brave beat in the Arc.

Debatably, Shergar also was simply not the same horse in September and it was to Dancing Brave's credit that he won the Arc after 4 breathtaking big races.As far as his comparison with Nijinsky there is no doubt that Nijinsky has a better statistical record winning the Triple Crown plus the King George and The Irish Derby. No doubt but for his attack of ringworm he would have gone on to win the Arc.Although I believe Nijinsky would have outstayed Dancing Brave in the Leger I believe he would have been beaten by Dancing Brave in the middle-Distance races.Nijinsky's opponents whom he vanquished like Blakeney,(Awarded the lowest Timeform rating to an Epsom Derby winner of 123 in 1969 and it went upto 126 as a 4 year old)Caliban etc.were not in the same class as Bering or even Shahrastani.Even had Nijinsky been fully fit and beaten Sassafras by 3 lengths in the Arc that win could not be rated on par to Dancing Brave's conquering of the French Champion Bering,who was a far superior horse to Sassafras.(Sassafras won the French Derby by only 3/4 of a length and was a
20 to one outsider in the Arc in contrast to Bering who won the French Derby in record time and was second favorite-an equivalent for France to what Dancing Brave was to Britain). The only colt which Nijinsky beat which compared in stature to Dancing Brave's middle-distance opponents in stature was Gyr, whom Nijinsky vanquished in the Epsom Derby.

I believe that on merit when evaluating the record's of great horses Dancing Brave should be regarded as the Epsom Derby winner, as it lost due to what was possibly not his fault.(Jockey Greville Starkey gave him no chance placing him more than 12 lengths behind.at the bend.Dancing Brave would have had to perform a miracle to win.I can't believe even Sea Bird could have won from there).

Thus, in my opinion on merit he should have been the winner of the 2000Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes,King George and the Arc and would have statistically outscored Mill Reef. The International Classifications awarded Dancing Brave a rating of 141,the highest since it's inception in 1977 However, Timeform reduced it to 140 placing Shergar and Vaguely Noble on par with him.(Sea Bird was 145, Ribot was 142, Mill Reef was 141)

It is possible that race goers may never witness the likes of Dancing Brave again. He was simply a horse that came once in a lifetime-the closest to a complete racehorse.

By Harsh Thakore

1986 2000 Guineas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5HIews3ogc

1986 Derby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWZqzWjdGaQ

1986 King George
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8SuLWQtxOc

1986 Arc De Triomphe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctctzyl-0d8&feature=related

Breeders Cup Turf 1986
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RXIWkRZ8lA
 
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Three horses that I loved as a child were,

L'escargot winner of the 1970 and 1971 Gold Cups and 1975 Grand National
Tied Cottage winner of the 1979 Irish National, also 1st past the post in the 1980 Gold Cup and a faller at the last when disputing the lead in the 1979 Gold Cup
Brown Lad winner of the Irish National in 1975, 1976 and 1978 the latter two wins carrying 12-2.
 
L'Escargot; one of the most underrated horses in the history of racing imo. Never knew of Brown Lad but read up on him a couple of years back. Finished second in a Gold Cup as well at the age of 12 [didn't race till he was 8!]. Katharine; I was like you when Dessie ran, even though I was gloriously unaware in those days of how dangerous life was for a racehorse. Did at least smoke in those days, and chain smoked my waY through racedays. When he had colic my friends were divided into two sections; those who laughed at me [the ex friends] and those who asked me 'how I was' each day. Watched an old video of great horse races the other night, and was still astounded at how Dessie jumped and battled. Used to make the pilgimage to Ab Kettleby each year to see him. Glory days; such a long time ago now...
 
EC1 said:
I see plater Big Bucks has won a few on there a few times;)
Click to expand...

:D

I was watching the Dancing Brave videos (except the Derby :mad:). I love his Arc win but I think the King George and QE is my favourite. Just the way Pat Eddery looks round, totally confident.

Probably my favourite flat horse.
 
:mad:

That ride, and Colin Brown's ride on Dessie in the 1987 King George still give me nightmares. I'll always believe that Dancing Brave should have been a Derby winner, and Dessie a five time King George winner.
 
The Ballad Of L'Escargot's Grand National, to be sung slowly, with eyes firmly closed:


To see the horse races I ventured one day,
I set out from Kingsbridge on the public railway
To the Curragh so bare in the County Kildare
With anticipation and money to spare

But I wagered it wildly, my wallet 'twas bare
I could not e'en afford the return railway fare
My heart it was broke, not e'en a good joke
Would light up the depths of my gloom and despair

Now on the same day in the other country
At the great racecourse renowned as Aintree
The English Grand National was due to take place
And 'twas many the long day since Ireland won the race

Running for England was a formidable foe
Red Rum had won two years in a row
And running for Ireland was an equine hero
I'm speaking for certain of the bold L'Escargot

Now the Curragh patrons this race wanted to see
So they reacted most positively
"Ladies and gents, we're pleased to tell ye
We're now the proud owners of a colour tv"

Off the field sped down to the first jump
Some of them fell with a sickening thump
Red Rum was handy in tenth place or so
But leading them all was the bold L'Escargot

"Begod" says Tom Carberry "we can win this with ease"
But up spoke L'Escargot "Not so fast please
There's more than four miles, and a very long straight
And to tell you the truth you're a bleddy ton weight"

Now Tom Carberry got angry "Less of your lip.
You are forgetting I carry a whip
That Red Rum's a champion, if we want the prize
You'll have to run till the sweat fills your eyes"

On down to Becher's, the crowd says "Here Goes"
Up L'Escargot flew, up L'Escargot rose
Ah damn it to hell, he's down on his nose,
How he's kept going there's nobody knows

"Begod" says Tom Carberry, "you gave me a fright".
"Ah less of your moaning, all day and all night.
Those fences aren't cardboard and they're of a great height,
if we're to get round just sit back and stay quiet".

On past the grandstands, there's a circuit to run
The crowd are excited, enjoying the fun
L'Escargot is leading, he's had a good run
But onto his shoulder moves the hardy Red Rum

(in a Lancashire accent)
"Well hello there Paddy, or is it Seamus or Mick?
I'll be expecting your head's a bit thick
Been out on the Guinness, been out on the town?
This race is just starting, I'll soon make you frown"

Without further waiting, Red Rum moves clear
The others are struggling, they're stuck in one gear
"Never mind" says Tom Carberry "you should remain of good cheer.
You've had a good run and you'll do better next year"

"Eh, please, Mr Carberry, I think we should talk
At coming back here, I will surely baulk
I'll make one final effort, throw one final fling
But tell them retire me when we're back in the ring"

"Fair enough" says Tom Carberry "that seems a fair deal,
But we'll have to get moving if we're victory to steal"
L'Escargot starts flying, he's moving so fast,
That he's upsides Red Rum as they come to the last

Over the last fence L'Escargot does soar
As he glides to the post, the crowd starts to roar,
For L'Escargot, Tom Carberry and trainer Dan Moore
Only one horse won Cup and National before
Click to expand...
 
Dawn Run

35 runs
21 wins​

Big Race Wins:​
Ascot Hurdle: 1983
Christmas Hurdle: 1983
Irish Champion Hurdle: 1984
Champion Hurdle: 1984
Aintree Hurdle: 1984
French Champion Hurdle: 1984
John Durkan Memorial Chase: 1985
Cheltenham Gold Cup: 1986​


From Wikipedia:

Dawn Run (1978–1986) by Deep Run out of Twilight Slave is the most successful racemare to date in National Hunt racing. She won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1984 and the Cheltenham Gold Cup over fences at the festival in 1986. She remains the only racehorse to have completed the Champion Hurdle - Gold Cup double. She was one of only two mares who have managed to win the Champion Hurdle, and one of four who have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. She was also the only horse ever to complete the English, Irish and French Champion Hurdle treble.

A daughter of the highly successful National Hunt sire Deep Run, Dawn Run was bought for 5,800 guineas and trained by Paddy Mullins in Ireland. She started her career at the age of four, running in flat races at provincial courses. Remarkably, she was ridden in her first three races by her 62 year old owner Charmian Hill. After completing a hat-trick of wins on the flat she set out on her hurdling career and progressed through the ranks to become champion novice hurdler in Britain and Ireland in her first season, 1982-83. In her second season she won 8 of her 9 races including the English Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown Racecourse, both over two miles, and the French Champion Hurdle (Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil) at Auteuil over three miles, becoming the first horse to complete the treble. Her other big victories that season included the Christmas Hurdle (2 miles) at Kempton, in which she beat the reigning Champion Hurdler Gaye Brief by a neck after a thrilling duel up the home stretch, the Sandemans Hurdle at Aintree Racecourse (2.5 miles), which she won in a canter by fifteen lengths, and the Prix La Barka at Auteuil.
She turned to steeplechasing the following season, but was injured after winning her first race and was out of action for the rest of the season. She made a successful return the following December by winning the Durkan Brothers Chase at Punchestown by 8 lengths. She followed up by beating the subsequent two mile champion chaser Buck House over two and a half miles at Leopardstown later the same month despite making a bad mistake at the last fence. She was a hot favourite to win that season's Cheltenham Gold Cup, the greatest steeplechase in Europe, despite the fact that no horse had ever completed the Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup double, that she was still virtually a novice over fences, and the three and a quarter mile trip of the Gold Cup over the stiff Cheltenham course was further than she had ever run before. In January 1986 she was given a prep race at Cheltenham Racecourse which she was expected to win easily. Her usual jockey, Tony Mullins, the son of the trainer, was on board. As usual, she set out to make all the running but her inexperience showed as she made a mistake on the back straight and unshipped her jockey. The commentator Julian Wilson had just spent about 30 seconds effusively praising her performance, i.e. 'cruising, coasting in the lead.', 'it's two years since she's been beaten'. Mullins got back up on her and finished the course, last of the four runners. It was an unsatisfactory preparation for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but, despite her inexperience, it was decided to let her take her chance.
Controversially, Mullins was replaced for the Gold Cup by the top jockey of the time, Jonjo O'Neill. On the day Dawn Run started hot favourite. O'Neill set her out in front to make the running as usual, but she was harried throughout the first circuit by Run and Skip. Unsettled by the attention, Dawn Run made a bad mistake at the water jump and lost two lengths and her momentum. She won back the lead at the next fence but made another bad mistake at the last ditch and was clearly under pressure as the field made their way down hill to the third last. At this stage there were only four horses in contention, Dawn Run, Run and Skip, the previous year's Gold Cup winner Forgive ´n Forget, and the brilliant Wayward Lad who had won the King George VI Chase three times. As she led the field into the straight with just two fences and the uphill finish ahead of them a huge cheer went up from the crowd, but it looked like destiny was about to disappoint them as both Wayward Lad and Forgive ´n Forget swept past the mare. It was now all or nothing for O'Neill as he drove her up to the second last and got such a response that she landed in front. It appeared to be a futile effort, however, as Wayward Lad regained the lead coming to the last fence, pressed by Forgive ´n Forget with Dawn Run struggling in third. About a hundred yards out Wayward Lad began to hang to the left as his stamina started to give out. O'Neill switched Dawn Run to the outside and they raced past Forgive ´n Forget and began to cut into Wayward Lad's lead. Yards from the finish they caught him and passed the post three quarters of a length ahead. They had won in record time. The subsequent celebrations were unlike anything seen at Cheltenham before as hats where thrown in the air and the huge crowd invaded the winners' enclosure to join in the celebrations.
In her next race at Aintree she failed to get past the first fence, but followed up by again beating Buck House in a specially arranged match at the Punchestown festival. The decision was then made by her owner to send her back to France to try to repeat her 1984 win in the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil (French Champion Hurdle). French jockey Michel Chirol was on board Dawn Run. Sadly, in that race she fell at a hurdle on the back straight, the fifth last, and never got up, having broken her neck in the fall. It was a measure of the great affection felt for her that her death was reported on the front page of the following day's Irish Times, and her statue now adorns the parade ring at Cheltenham, opposite the statue of the greatest steeplechaser of all time, Arkle.


1984 Aintree Hurdle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okpXxrPCc8M

1984 Champion Hurdle (closing stages)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtxHeVD1xKQ

1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC9dRA15F9s

1986 'The Match' Dawn Run vs Buck House (Queen Mother Champion Chase winner)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhai8xzEi0k

Dawn_Run_1749259c.jpg
21285.jpg
 
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