Hooven Heroes - Five of the World's Greatest Racehorses

It’s often said that there is no such thing as a dead certainty in the world of horse racing, but every so often a horse comes along of such high pedigree and performance that it has the bookmakers regularly wishing they’d taken the day off. These extraordinary thoroughbred racehorses possess the optimum combination of breeding, physical fitness, stamina and physiology that make them the ultimate running machine. 


Paired with the right jockey and a modicum of good fortune, such horses are capable of legendary feats and become favourites not only of bookies and punters, but are taken to the hearts of the general public too. Here are five of the world’s greatest racehorses.

Red Rum

Few racehorses have captured a nation’s emotions in the way that Red Rum did. Of Irish stock, Red Rum’s ascent to glory began with his purchase by Ginger McCain and subsequent training on the twenty-two mile stretch of beach at Southport, Merseyside. Despite suffering from an incurable bone disease, pedal osteitis, in one foot, Red Rum pursued a remarkable racing career. As a jumper, he fell only once in more than a hundred races but it was his outstanding performance in five successive Grand Nationals that cemented Red Rum’s place in history. An unprecedented thirty-length recovery to win the race in 1973 was followed by a second victory the following year. In 1975 and 1976 Red Rum was placed second but in 1977 returned to win the Grand National once more.

Shergar

Another Irish racehorse, Shergar achieved fame by winning the 1981 Epsom Derby by an unparalleled ten lengths, the greatest winning lead ever achieved in Epsom’s 226-year history. Winning his next race, the Irish Derby, by a clear four lengths Shergar became an Irish sporting hero overnight. At the peak of his career, shares in Shergar sold for £10million – a European record price. It was not only Shergar’s racing career that was to make headlines. Following his retirement in 1981 the horse was put out to stud in Ireland, fathering thirty-five foals in his first season. But in February 1983 armed thieves abducted Shergar. To date, the identity of the thieves and Shergar’s ultimate fate remain unknown.

Seabiscuit

Raised in Kentucky, USA during the Great Depression, Seabiscuit’s story could be seen as an analogy of the American Dream; the underdog makes good and rises to the top through the application of determination and hard work. Initially undersized and lacking stamina, Seabiscuit’s early racing performance was poor. But in the hands of unorthodox trainer Tom Smith turned the horse’s fortunes around with impressive wins in the 1936 Bay Bridge Handicap and the prestigious World’s Fair Handicap. The winning streak continued in 1937 with Seabiscuit triumphing in eleven of his fifteen races and winning the American Horse of the Year Award, an achievement repeated in 1938 after another enormously successful season. When Seabiscuit retired in 1939 he was American horseracing’s all-time highest money earner, with numerous statues and an Oscar-nominated 2003 film paying testimony to Seabiscuit’s legendary status.

Desert Orchid

Affectionately referred to as ‘Dessie’ , Desert Orchid was an English-bred steeplechaser thought by many to be the greatest jumper and front-runner in horseracing history. Certainly Dessie’s career record is impressive, featuring a string of successive wins and placings at Ascot and Sandown. Desert Orchid’s defining race, however, must be 1989’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. Faced with the worst possible course conditions as a result of rain and snow, Dessie’s sheer grit and determination saw him triumph by a length and a half, provoking a spontaneous three cheers from admiring spectators. Dessie achieved eight consecutive race wins in 1989, and won the King George VI Chase for fourth time in 1990. Even following his retirement in 1991, Desert Orchid remained a hero raising thousands of ponds for charity and drawing huge crowds of fans wherever he appeared.

Phar Lap

Literally translated from it’s Thai roots, the name of this New Zealand born thoroughbred racehorse means ‘sky flash’ – ‘lightning’. However, thanks to his domination of Australian racing between 1929 and his untimely death in 1932, Phar Lap was to earn the popular nickname of ‘the Australian Wonder Horse’. Over 1930 and 1931, Phar Lap won an incredible fourteen successive races. Such was his racing prowess that in November 1930 he survived a botched attempt to shoot him and later the same day won the Melbourne Stakes. In his short career Phar Lap won 37 of his 51 races, earning him iconic status and a place in both Australia’s and New Zealand’s Racing Hall of Fame.


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