Racing: Horses

Lester Piggott's nine Derby winners

1954		Never Say Die	1957		Crepello	1960		St. Paddy
1968		Sir Ivor	1970		Nijinsky	1972		Roberto
1976		Empery	1977		The Minstrel	1983		Teenoso

Willie Carson's four Derby winners

1979

Troy

1980

Henbit

1989

Nashwan

1994

Erhaab

Cheltenham Gold Cup: multiple winners

5 wins	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936		Golden Miller
3 wins	1948	1949	1950				Cottage Rake
3 wins	1964	1965	1966				Arkle
3 wins	2002	2003	2004				Best Mate
2 wins	1929	1930					Easter Hero
2 wins	1970	1971					L'Escargot
2 wins	2007	2009					Kauto Star

Other

2015: first American Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes) winner since 1978		American Pharaoh
Horse, belonging to King George V, that trampled Emily Davison in the 1913 Derby (she died four days later)		Anmer
Three times Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, 1964–6; widely regarded as the greatest National Hunt horse of all time		Arkle
Three times Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, 2002–4; collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack while running at Exeter, in November 2005		Best Mate
Named after a Conan Doyle character – a fictional French Hussar in the Napoleonic wars, who appeared in seventeen short stories, a play and a historical novel; won 17 of 18 starts, including the 2,000 guineas in 1971		Brigadier Gerard
Australian–bred horse: best remembered as the runner–up to Red Rum in the 1973 Grand National, after leading by 15 lengths going over the final fence		Crisp
The only horse to win the Champions Hurdle and Gold Cup at Cheltenham Festival (1984 and 1986 respectively); also the only horse ever to win the English, lrish and French Champion Hurdles		Dawn Run
Popular and successful steeplechaser, a grey: first to win the King George VI Chase four times (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990); also won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1989; ashes buried near its statue at Kempton Park, following its death in 2005		Desert Orchid
Winner of the first Derby (1780)		Diomed
Only horse to win the 'English' (1998), Scottish (1994) and Welsh (1998) Grand Nationals		Earth Summit
English thoroughbred (great–grandson of the Darley Arabian through his sire, and grandson of the Godolphin Arabian through his dam), bred by the Duke of Cumberland (victor of Culloden, who died 19 months after the horse's birth) – retired undefeated 1771 at the age of 7 as no other horses could compete – gave its name to a race held at Sandown Park in July and also the USA's most prestigious racing awards		Eclipse
Only horse to win the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same year		Golden Miller (1934)
First horse to regain the Cheltenham Gold Cup (i.e. to win it in two non–consecutive years – 2007, 2009); first to win the King George VI Chase four consecutive times (2006–2009) – also won in 2011; buried at Kempton Park following euthanisation in 2016		Kauto Star
Interrupted Kauto Star's run of King George VI Stakes wins in 2010 (actually run in January 2011) – but the latter was found to have burst a blood vessel and therefore was well below par		Long Run
First horse to win the Melbourne Cup three times (2003–5)		Makybe Diva
Trained by Ian Balding (father of Clare): in 1971, won the Epsom Derby, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Eclipse Stakes and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes		Mill Reef
1970: ridden by Lester Piggott, won the "English Triple Crown" (Derby, 2,000 Guineas, St. Leger) – the first horse to do so since Bahram in 1935, and the last to date (2023)		Nijinsky
Canadian–bred thoroughbred, 1961–90: described (in Wikipedia) as "the greatest sire of the 20th century" – subject of a 2006 biography entitled The Kingmaker		Northern Dancer
1985: Steve Cauthen won the Oaks, the 1,000 Guineas and the St. Leger on		Oh So Sharp
Sir Gordon Richards's only Derby winner (1953)		Pinza
Bought in 1972 for £6,000 (guineas?) on behalf of Noel le Mare, a wealthy north–west building entrepreneur; suffered from an inflammatory bone condition, generally thought to be incurable, but soon cured by his new trainer		Red Rum
Part–owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, raced 2001–2; subject of a much–publicised dispute over the exact terms of ownership, with John Magnier (described as "Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner"); won 10 of its 13 races, including the 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2000 Guineas in 2002		Rock of Gibraltar
US racehorse that became an unlikely champion during the Great Depression, and thus a symbol of hope to millions; beat the seemingly invincible War Admiral in "the Match of the Century", 1938; subject of a 1944 film and a 2001 book, the latter filmed in 2003		Seabiscuit
Won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby and the Arc de Triomphe in 2009 – an unprecedented treble		Sea the Stars
Won the Derby by a record 10 lengths in 1981; put out to stud in Ireland in the same year, and was stolen in 1983 (never to be seen again)		Shergar
Won the Ascot Gold Cup three times in a row, 2018–20 (ridden by Frankie Dettori each time)		Stradivarius
First horse to win the English Triple Crown (1853)		West Australian
Set a record time (2:31.33) for the Epsom Derby, in 2010		Workforce
Won the Ascot Gold Cup four times in a row, 2006–9 (with three different jockeys – Kieren Fallen, Michael Kinane, and Johnny Murtagh twice))		Yeats

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23