When the final history of horse-racing is written, Badsworth can just sit pretty; assured that he booked his space in the records long ago. The champion of the 1980s was literally devastating, with speed and jumping power that was so great that more than once it proved to be his undoing. He was unstoppable, sometimes even by his own handlers.
Multiple owners, multiple trainers
It was often joked that he was too much to handle for one person; he had to be owned by three people- Maurice Gibson, Doug Armitage, and Ronald Howe- and it took a whole family to train him (Michael, Tony and Monica Dickinson, all for whom he won major races).
Born in 1975 in Great Britain, the racing machine went on to win a staggering 26 races over hurdles and fences (8/18) in a career that lasted until 1987 and included 70 starts.
Most notable during Badsworth Boy’s career was the huge margins by which he beat his opponents, and also the clearance he got over barriers. Ridded and (barely) reigned by Robert Earnshaw, He won twice and came third once as a two year old, before coming third at the Triumph Hurdle in 1979.
Queen Mother hat trick
He then went ahead to collect a hat-trick of consecutive wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase between 1983 and 1985. The first win was by a clear distance over Artifice in second, and was the greatest margin since the race’s inception 25 years earlier. The third Champion Chase ensured he had won for each of the three Dickinsons.
His life is also a story, as he walked the racing circles up until 2002, when he died of a heart attack aged 27. At the time of his death, his Champion Chase record still stood. He was horse number 12 to cross the £100,000 earnings mark in the jumping races; a pretty tidy amount in his era.
