Horses

Desert Orchid lived for a 27 sparkling years before passing on, leaving a story that would make the core of any Hollywood blockbuster. Most people just called him Dessie, and he was seen as a fond celebration of the steeple chasing culture. His real sweet spot was National Hunt racing, and fans loved to see his straight runs, his ability to switch from one position to the next as well as his aggression to approach the homestretch. His versatility is easily seen in the way he managed to work with different jockeys as opposed to most horses that got stressed out when jockeys were switched. In the course of his career, he worked with Simon Sherwood, Richard Linley, Colin Brown, and Richard Dunwoody. Brian Rouse rode him just once.

Career

Starting out at novice hurdles, Dessie found things a little tougher than anticipated. His first 42 races, all under Colin Brown, produced 17 victories but the run ended in a massive fall at the tracks. He took some time to capture his form, which explains why his minders had to find for him a career as a steeplechaser. Most people will remember the Victor Chandler Handicap Chase(1989), where Orchid was headed by a rival but recovered to win by some stretch. In the same year, in the most extreme of conditions, he romped to victory at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in front of a crowd of 58000 strong who cheered proudly and surrounded him as soon as the race was called. He has a timeform rating of 187, which places him within the list of top horses of all time in the sport.

Value

Desert orchid managed 34 victories out of the 70 times he stepped up to the track, which is an incredible stat by any measure. By the time he retired, he had accumulated £654,066 in prize money.

When Kauto Star(2000-2015) was foaled and bred by Mrs. Henri Aubert, his descent suggested that he would have a remarkable influence on the racing world, but no one thought that he would ooze class, quality and elegance as he came to. His sire was a renowned Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner, and his dam was Kauto Relka.

Kauto Star received training from Paul Nicholls, one of the most recognisable and eloquent training characters, who purchased him from his French owners when he saw a video of him in action in Auteuil. He named Kauto Star as one of his top ten favourite racehorses. The icon trainer always noted that Kauto Star was special and unique. By the year 2007, Kauto Star had amassed impressive victories and become recognised as the star of the steeplechase world.

Career

Kauto Star was an exceptionally talented jump racer who was surrounded by the right people amongst them his seven-time trainer, Nicholls and the seven-time champion, Walsh.

The French hunt champion was initially trained and won his first matches in France under the training of Serge Foucher. He later came to the attention of Paul Nicholls who spent 400, 000 euros to purchase him from his French owners and brought him to his recognition as a steeplechase jump star.

Legacy

Timeform rated the jump star as the third best steeplechase horse in their racing history. He was rated a 191 which equaled Mill House’s score and was only surpassed by Arkle and Flying Boat on 212 and 210 respectively. Kauto was rated the best steeplechase jump star of the years 2006/07, 2007/08, 2009/010 and in the 2011/012 horse racing seasons.

Death

On 24th, June 2015, Kauto Star was seriously injured and therefore humanly euthanised on the 29th , after days of pain. The news of his death broke out a few days later. He went down as the one complete chaser of the modern era.

Born in 1978, Dawn Run was one of the more successful mares in a sport dominated by the other gender. She started our relatively quiet but would go on to become the most celebrated mare in the records of National Hunt. Most horses start out at the age of 2 but this mare was taken to the competitions at the first time at the age of four and despite the odds against her, she did turn a good result in competitions at the provincial level with her first forays being in flat racing. Charmian Hill, her owner, also doubled as her jockey for the first few games. Hill was 62 years old at the time.

Dawn Run’s trainers seemed to dither a lot on what the horse was destined to do. While some thought that she was best at competitions that involved flat racing, others believed that hurdles were her forte. After the first few flat racing ventures, she would eventually turn to hurdles, where she also shone, coasting to victory in various events. Still undecided, her owner decided that it was time to take a shot at steeple chasing, which is what they prepared her for in 1985. She started her journey in the competition by winning her debut race but was unfortunately injured for a long stretch, making her return at the end of the year. While chasing honours in France, in 1986, Dawn fell heavily and broke her neck. The event was widely covered across the world by major publications, and editorials came out praising her as a gallant soldier that fell in the line of duty.

In her life, she had won a slew of races in all the categories she competed in. However, her biggest accomplishment was that she had managed to set the pace as the only ever horse to win the French, Irish and English treble.