Famous Horses

Top Ten Famous Racehorses

admin August 18, 2025

Aldaniti

The fairytale Grand National success of Aldaniti, trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion, in 1981 was immortalised in the 1984 film ‘Champions’, released by Embassy Pictures. Two years previously, Champion had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, requiring surgery and, in his own words, “barbaric” chemotherapy, while Aldaniti had suffered a career-threatening leg injury at Sandown Park, which kept him off the racecourse for over a year. However, they both recovered sufficiently to take their place at Aintree on April 4, 1981 where, as 10/1 second favourite, Aldaniti duly prevailed, beating Spartan Missile by four lengths.

Arkle

The best part of six decades after he ran his last race, the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on December 27, 1966, Arkle remains the yardstick by which steeplechasers are measured. Owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster and trained by Tom Dreaper in Co. Dublin, the horse known simply as ‘Himself’ in racing circles won 27 of his 35 races over hurdles and fences, notably including the Cheltenham Gold Cup three years running, in 1964, 1965 and 1996. His Timeform Annual Rating of 212 remains the highest ever awarded to a steeplechaser, 2lb superior to his stable companion Flyingbolt and fully 30lb superior to any other steeplechaser since the early sixties.

Desert Orchid

A dashing grey – in fact, almost white – steeplechaser, trained by David Elsworth in Fordingbridge, Wiltshire, Desert Orchid was arguably the most popular racehorse in British history. In his heyday, in the eighties and early nineties, he won 34 of his 70 races over hurdles and fences, but it was over the larger obstacles that ‘Dessie’, as he was known to his countless fans, would make his name. He won the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park four times, in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990, but achieved his greatest triumph on an otherwise dismal day at Cheltenham on March 16, 1989, when he overcame the hindrance of racing left-handed, on unfavoured heavy going, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Frankel

Owned by the late Khalid Abdullah and trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil, Frankel retired unbeaten in 14 starts after winning his tenth Group 1 race, the Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 20, 2012. A six-length winner of the 2,000 Guineas as a three-year-old, Frankel was voted Cartier Horse of the Year in 2011 and 2012. His Timeform Annual Rating of 147 remains the highest-ever awarded to a Flat horse since ratings were first published in ‘Racehorses of 1947’ in 1948. Following his final victory, Cecil said of Frankel, “He’s the best I’ve ever had, the best I’ve ever seen. I’d be very surprised if there’s ever been better.”

Kauto Star

The joint-fourth highest-rated steeplechaser of the Timeform era, alongside the 1963 Cheltenham Gold winner Mill House and behind only Arkle, Flyingbolt and dual Champion Chaser Sprinter Sacre, Kauto Star had the distinction of being the first horse to win at least one Grade 1 race for seven seasons, which he did between 2004/05 and 2011/12. He won 23 of his 41 races over hurdles and fences, including 19 of his 31 steeplechases, over distances ranging from a mile and seven-and-a-half furlongs to three miles and two-and-a-half furlongs. Career highlights included winning the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park a record five times, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, in 2007 and 2009.

Nijinsky

Legendary jockey Lester Piggott, who won the Flat Jockeys’ Championship 11 times between 1960 and 1982 and rode 4,493 winners in Britain alone in a career spanning six decades, once said of Nijinsky, ” I think Nijinsky probably on his day was the most brilliant horse I’ve ever ridden.” In 1970, Piggott rode Nijinsky to victory in the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St. Leger, not to mention the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, thereby making him the first – and, at the time of writing, the last – horse since Bahram, in 1935, to win the Triple Crown. Nijinsky was beaten just twice in his 13-race career, on his last two starts, in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Champion Stakes but, unsurprisingly, was voted British Horse of the Year.

Red Rum

Arguably the most famous racehorse in British history, Red Rum remains the only horse ever to have won the Grand National three times. Trained by Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain, ‘Rummie’, as the horse was affectionately known, won back-to-back renewals of the celebrated steeplechase in 1973 and 1974, making him the first horse since Reynoldstown, in 1936, to do so. He was thwarted in his hat-trick bid by L’Escargot in 1975 and, again, by Rag Trade in 1976, but returned to Aintree, as a 12-year-old, in 1977 to record his unprecedented third win, by 25 lengths. Hos retirement from racing, on the eve of 1978 Grand National, was (no pun intended) national news.

Seabiscuit

The story of Seabiscuit, as recounted in the factual book ‘Seabiscuit: An American Legend’, written by Laura Hillenbrand and published in 1999, is a rags-to-riches tale for the ages. Foaled in Lexington, Kentucky in 1933, in the trough of the Great Depression, the aptly-named son of Hard Tack still a maiden after 17 races, but emerged from relative obscurity to win 33 of his 89 races in all and a then-record $437,730 in prize money. On November 1, 1938, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Seabiscuit met 1937 Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year War Admiral in the so-called ‘Match of the Century’, over nine-and-a-half furlongs. Despite being sent off at 2/1 against War Admiral at 1/4, Seabiscuit drew away in the closing stages to win by four lengths, breaking the track record in the process.

Secretariat

Nicknamed ‘Big Red’, Secretariat is famous not only for winning the American Triple Crown – that is, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes – in 1973, but also for still, at the time of writing, holding the record for the fastest winning time in all three races. Indeed, his 31-length defeat of a non-descript field, at odds of 1/10, in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York on June 9, 1973 certanly made an impression of Kent Hollingsworth, editor of ‘The Blood-Horse’. Hollingsworth wrote, “He [Secretariat] won by a sixteenth of a mile! I saw it. I have to believe it.” Named Horse of the Year in 1972 and 1973, Secretariat won 16 of his 21 races and $1.32 million in prize money.

Shergar

On the racecourse, Shergar is best remembered for his still-record, 10-length win in the 1981 Derby, for which he was sent off odds-on favourite after winning the Sandown Classic Trial and the ChesterVase by similarly wide margins. Indeed, his superiority at Epsom caused commentator Peter Bromley to exclaim, “There’s only one horse in it. You need a telescope to see the rest!” Off the racecourse, the son of Great Nephew is best remembered for being kidnapped from the Ballymany Stud in Co. Kildare, where he had been syndicated for £10 million, by armed gunmen in 1983. The kidnappers, probably members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), demanded a ransom of £2 million, which was never paid, and Shergar was never seen alive again.

Smarty Jones

admin April 8, 2025

Owned by Roy ‘Chappy’ Chapman and his wife, Patricia – after whose late mother, Milly ‘Smarty Jones’ McNair, he was named – Smarty Jones is best remembered for winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2004, but failing by just a length to win the American Triple Crown. Foaled at Fairthorne Farm, Pennsylvania on February 28, 2001, Smarty Jones was originally destined to be handled by Robert ‘Bobby’ Camac, but following his murder on December 6, 2001, the Chapmans turned instead to little-known trainer John Servis.

Smarty Jones won his first race, a maiden special weight over six furlongs at Philadelphia Park, by 7¾ lengths on November 9, 2003 and followed up, by 15 lengths, in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes, over seven furlongs at Turf Paradise two weeks later. He spent the winter at Oakland Park, Arkansas, where the racecourse authority introduced a $5 million bonus for any horse that won the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Canadian-born jockey Stewart Elliott, as he was on all nine career starts, Smarty Jones duly won the Rebel Stakes by 3¼ lengths and the Arkansas Derby by 1½ lengths to give his connections a chance of winning the bonus. Sent off favourite at Churchill Downs on May 1, 2004, he took over from the trailblazing Lion Heart approaching the final furlong and was ridden out to win by 2¾ lengths. In so doing, he became the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby since Seattle Slew in 1977 and made Elliott the first first jockey for 25 years to win the ‘Run for the Roses’ at the first attempt.

An impressive, 11½-length victory in the Preakness Stakes was followed by defeat by the largely unconsidered Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes to bring his career to a less-than-perfect end. Nevertheless, Smarty Jones won eight of his nine races and, including the $5 million bonus, over £7.6 million in total prize money.

Seattle Slew

admin April 8, 2025

Foaled on February 15, 1974, Seattle Slew was, at the time of his death on May 7, 2002, the only horse to win the American Triple Crown while undefeated. Since then, the only other horse to do so was Justify, in 2018, who is descended from Seattle Slew through perhaps the best known of his offspring, 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy.

Originally trained by William ‘Billy’ Turner Jr. and ridden by French-American jockey Jean Cruguet, Seattle Slew raced just three times as a juvenile. He did, however, win all three starts, including the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park – at the time, the most important race of its kind in the United States – which was sufficient to be named Champion Two-Year-Old in 1976.

After three preparatory races, in which he was sent off at long odds-on, Seattle Slew duly became the tenth winner of the American Triple Crown, clinching the championship with a comfortable, 4-length victory over Run Dusty Run in the Belmont Stakes, with Cruguet celeberating prematurely, some way from the finish line. Controversy followed, with Seattle Slew managing only a distant fourth, beaten 16 lengths, in the Swap Stakes at Hollywood Park on his next start, a defeat that ultimately led to Turner being fired and replaced by Douglas Peterson. Seattle Slew was beaten twice more as a four-year-old, by a neck and by a nose, but still finished his career with 14 wins from 17 starts and just over $1.2 million in prize money.

Following his retirement from racing, Seattle Slew stood at stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington and Three Chimneys Farm in Midway. He eventually died in his sleep at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Paris, Kentucky on May 7, 2002 – 25 years to the day after winning the Kentucky Derby – at the age of 28. Co-owner Mickey Taylor said of him, “He was the most complete Thoroughbred the industy has ever seen. He just kept raising the bar with every record he broke.”

Figure

admin April 8, 2025

Figure, otherwise known as the ‘Justin Morgan Horse’, after his most famous owner, was the foundation sire of one of the earliest American breeds, the Morgan Horse. The details of his lineage have been hotly debated down the years, but he was almost certainly foaled in southern New England in 1789 and was sired by True Briton, s Throughbred, out of a dam by Diamond, known as ‘The Wildmair Mare’. John Wallace, for example, who published the first volume of his ‘Trotting Register’ in 1871, claimed that Figure was not, in fact, sired by True Briton, and effectively accused his owner of fraud by misrepresenation.

Vermont schoolteacher Justin Morgan reputedly received Figure as part payment of a debt in 1791. Morgan advertised Figure for stud duties at various locations in the Connecticut River Valley between 1792 and 1795, but thereafter the horse passed from owner to owner, stood in many places and sired an unrecorded number of foals. In 1891, Figure was sold to his final owner, Levi Bean, in Chelsea, Vermont, and died two years later of a flank injury, caused by a kick from another horse, aged 32. A fictionalised version of his story appeared in the 1945 children’s novel ‘Just Morgan Had a Horse’ by Marguerite Henry and was adapted as a film by Disney Studios in 1972.

A compact, muscular horse, who stood approximately 14 hands high, Figure was the progenitor of a breed that is, nowadays, revered for its beauty, athleticism and calm, intelligent demeanour. Morgans are suitable for various equestrian disciplines and their excellent disposition makes them popular pleasure mounts for experienced and novice riders. Indeed, the official breed registry, the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA), originally founded in 1909 as the Morgan Horse Club, has the slogan “The Horse That Chooses You.” According to the AMHA, approximately 90,000 living Morgans are officially registered with the Association.

Eclipse

admin April 7, 2025

Born during, and named after, an annular eclipse on April1, 1764 – dubbed ‘The Great Eclipse’ by the scribes of the day – Eclipse did start racing until he was fully mature, as a five-year-old, but won all of his 18 races between May 3, 1769 and October 4, 1770. Indeed, such was his dominance during those two seasons that he started at odd-against just once and walked-over on eight occasions, having frightened the opposition away. His eventual retirement to stud, in 1771, was due, in large part, to the lack of meaningful competition.

On May 3, 1769, prior to the second heat of the Noblemen and Gentleman’s Plate on Epsom Downs, Connacht-born gambler Dennis O’Kelly supposedly asked for odds against “Eclipse first, the rest nowhere”. In other words, O’Kelly was suggesting that Eclipse, who had won the first heat easily, would pass the winning post before any of his rivals passed the ‘distance’ post, 240 yards from the finish, such that they would be deemed to have finished ‘nowhere’. Eclipse did just that, landing odds of 6/4 and even money for the intepid Irishman, who later used his winnings to buy the horse.

Following his retirement from racing, Eclipse stood at Clay Hill Stud, Epsom and later at Cannpns Stud, Edgware, where he would become the foremost sire of modern Thoroughbreds, with his name appearing somewhere in the pedigree of approximate 95% of the breed. Eclipse died following an attack of colic on February 27, 1789, aged 24. Nowadays, his almost complete skeleton is on display at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire. On the racecourse, he is commemorated by the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes, which is run annually at Sandown Park in July. Established in 1886, the Eclispe Stakes was, at that stage, the most valuable race ever run in Britain.