Tag Archives: newmarket

Newmarket 1852: Running For Their Lives… Literally

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Good Morning!

Welcome to a new post here at zoelouisesmithx.com! Today’s post is another piece in my Horse Racing History series and it’s a fascinating one to say the least! I think this may be a slightly shorter post but it’s one I found interesting and wanted to share, so without further ado, let’s just get right into it!

On a Saturday in October 1852, thousands flocked to Newmarket racecourse for one reason only. The Earl of Glasgow had announced that he intended to run 6 of his horses the next day and had said:

The losers should pay the penalty of death.”

And everybody knew that this was not an idle threat, with a fellow owner George Hodgman recording:

A bad horse in his opinion was only fit to be shot. The Earl of Glasgow knew no such word as ‘hesitation’, his thinning out process by aid of the gun being a common topic of conversation at this period.”

The news of the Earls threat had spread very quickly amongst thousands which meant crowd and crowds of people headed towards the course with a morbid curiosity as to 1) if he kept his word and 2) what horses would be losing their lives.

The first horse to run was a bay filly called Senorita who run in a half mile race and was sent off as the favourite. She ran for her life – literally and ended up winning by one and a half lengths.

The second horse up was a chestnut colt called Knight of the Garter who was taking on Lord Exeter’s Ilex over one and three quarter miles. Luckily, he ended up winning by three quarters of a length.

The next horse was a bay colt called Double Thong, who was spared an expected defeat when his main opponent bolted in the wrong direction when the flag fell.

We then move onto the forth horse a brown colt called Caracara who was 1/3 favourite again a horse called Sackbut who ran in a 1 mile race. Both horses passed the line at the exact same time and everybody held their breathe until the number went up showing that Caracara had in fact won. A cheer of pure relief rang around the track.

We then move onto the fifth horse and the first horse to be partnered with a new jockey. All 4 of the previous horses were partnered with Nat Flatman, but now Tommy Lye took the ride on the 5th horse who was a sister to the previous horse Caracara, however she had not been named. The owner did not believe she deserved a name and he had previously called his horses ‘He Isn’t Worth A Name’ as well as ‘Give Him A Name’. She was relatively unfancied as she was taking on an odds on favourite for Duke of Bedford called Hesperus Across The Flat, however shockingly she beat the odds on favourite.

So now, it was the final horse’s turn to run. Another filly without a name, however the Duke of Bedford declined to start his horse called Ernestine against her, so therefore she did not run and her life was saved.

So in the end, all 6 horses were saved and went on to live another day. Some suspect that the horses had been given a helping hand, however others suspect it was all a cynical publicity stunt set up by the Earl. But truly, nobody knows if he was doing it for publicity or if he would have stuck to his word be it one or more of his horses had lost. And he never really spoke out about the situation after the day had ended either, so to this day, nobody really knows and probably never will.

I honestly found this one so interesting to read into, it’s such a crazy story and we still don’t know the real truth which makes it even crazier. What do you think? Would he have stuck to his word? Was it all a publicity stunt? Or did others help his horses along to win? I love these history posts and from what my figures show so do my audience so I have plenty more planned!

Thank you for reading and I will see you all Wednesday evening at 6pm for a new post!

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The History of the 2000 Guineas

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Good Morning!

Welcome to a new post here at zoelouisesmithx.com! Ahead of today’s renewal of the 2000 Guineas I have decided to have a quick look at the history of the race including some past winners and some interesting records, facts and figures. So without further ado, lets just jump right in!

The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race which first took place in 1809. It is open to 3 year old thoroughbred colts and fillies, which is ran over 1 mile (1,609 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. It is one of the Britain’s five ‘Classic’ races and currently it is the first one of the year, being ran in late April/early May each year. It is also the first leg of the Triple Crown, you can read more about that right here: https://zoelouisesmithx.com/2021/04/28/the-history-of-the-english-triple-crown/.

The first running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes took place on April 18th 1809, established by the Jockey Club under the direction of Sir Charles Bunbury, who interestingly had previously co-founded the Espom Derby. The race was named after its original prize, a guinea amounted to roughly £1.05, so 2000 guineas roughly equalled £2,100.

Now, lets have a look at some previous winners, starting with the first winner back in 1809, Wizard who was rode by Bill Clift, trained by Tom Perren and owned by Christopher Wilson. I then want to skip forward a few years to 1814, this was the first of three wins in a row for jockey Bill Arnull and trainer Dixon Boyce when Olive won, in 1815 the pair won again with Tigris, then winning again for a thirs time in 1816 with Nectar.

This repeated itself a few years later, starting in 1820 when jockey Frank Buckle, trainer Robert Robson and owner 4th Duke of Grafton won with Pindarrie, the trio then won again in 1821 with Reginald and again in 1822 with Pastille – who interestingly was the first filly to win the race.

Let’s jump forward quite a few years now to 1900 where Diamond Jubilee won the race (who also went on to win the Triple Crown) who was trained by Richard Marsh, with Herbert Jones riding for the owner the Prince of Wales at the time Edward VII who went on to be the King the following year in 1901. He then won again when he was King in 1909 just a year before his death in 1910. This time he won the race with Minoru who was rode by Herbert Jones and trained by Richard Marsh again.

The next one I want to look at is in 1942 when Big Game won for jockey Gordon Richards and trainer Fred Darling and the King at the time King George VI who is Queen Elizabeth II (the current Queen)’s father.

In here I want to quickly mention the 1956 winner Gilles de Retz who won for jockey Frank Barlow and owner Anthony Samuel. This is very interesting as the trainer was a lady called Helen Johnson Houghton who was the first female trainer to train a Classic winner, however her name does not appear in the official records, instead it is replaced by the name Charles Jerdein because at the time the Jockey Club would not allow women to hold a trainers’ license.

We then jump forward to 1968 when Lester Piggott won on Sir Ivor for Vincent O’Brien and owner Raymond Guest, he then went on to win again in 1970, this time on Nijinsky, again for Vincent O’Brien and owner Charles Engelhard. Nijinsky went on to be the last ever Triple Crown winner to date. A few years later in 1976 Frankie Dettori’s father Gianfranco Dettori won on Bolkonski for Henry Cecil and owner Carlo d’Alessio, before winning again the next year in 1977 for the same trainer and owner, this time on Wollow. 20 years later in 1996 Frankie then won the race on Mark of Esteem for Saeed bin Suroor and Godolphin.

In 1997 Michael Kinane won the race on Entrepreneur for Michael Stoute and owners Tabor / Magnier then winning again in 1998 this time on board King of Kings for Aidan O’Brien and the same owners.

The following year in 1999, Frankie Dettori would win again this time on Island Sands for Saeed bin Suroor and owners Godolphin, however this renewal of the race took place on Newmarket’s July course.

Other notable winners we have is Rock of Gibraltar winning in 2002 for jockey Johnny Murtagh, trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners Ferguson / Magnier, Pat Smullen winning the race in 2003 on board Refuse to Bend for trainer Dermot Weld and owners Moyglare Stud Farm.

We then have Footstepsinthesand winning in 2005 for jockey Kieran Fallon, trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners Tabor / Magnier with them following it up in 2006 with George Washington this time for Magnier / Tabor / Smith.

We also have Frankel who won in 2011 for jockey Tom Queally, trainer Henry Cecil and owner Khalid Abdullah, followed up by Camelot in 2012 for jockey Joseph O’Brien, trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners Smith / Magnier / Tabor. There’s also Gleneagles in 2015 for jockey Ryan Moore, trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners Smith / Magnier / Tabor. With Galileo Gold winning in 2016 for Frankie Dettori, Hugo Palmer and Al Shaqab Racing.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019 trainer Aidan O’Brien and owners Smith / Magnier / Tabor were successful, firstly with Churchill in 2017 rode by Ryan Moore, then Saxon Warrior in 2018 rode by Donnacha O’Brien followed up by Magna Grecia in 2019 also rode by Donnacha O’Brien.

The latest winner was Kameko who won the race in 2020 when it was actually ran slightly later into the year in June due to the Coronavirus pandemic. He was rode by Oisin Murphy for Andrew Balding and Qatar Racing.

Now let’s have a look at some records over the years.

Starting with the leading jockey with a massive 9 victories in this race, we have Jem Robinson. His first victory came in 1825 with Enamel, with Cadland in 1828, Riddlesworth in 1831, Clearwell in 1833, Glencoe in 1834, Ibrahim in 1835, Bay Middleton in 1836, Conyngham in 1847 and finally Flatcatcher in 1848.

In more recent times with 5 wins we have Kieren Fallon who won with King’s Best in 2000, Golan in 2001, Footstepsinthesand in 2005, George Washington in 2006 and Night Of Thunder in 2014.

Let’s now have a look at the leading trainer, the name I think all racing fans know very very well within the flat racing world and that is of course Aidan O’Brien who has a huge 10 wins in this race. King of Kings in 1998 starting his run of winners, followed up by Rock of Gibraltar in 2002, Footstepsinthesand in 2005, George Washington in 2006, Henrythenavigator in 2008, Camelot in 2012, Gleneagles in 2015, Churchill in 2017, Saxon Warrior in 2018 and finally Magna Grecia in 2019.

So now, the leading owner, (this includes part ownership) and that goes to an 11 time winner Sue Magnier who has won with Entrepreneur in 1997, King of Kings in 1998, Rock of Gibraltar in 2002, Footstepsinthesand in 2005, George Washington in 2006, Henrythenavigator in 2008, Camelot in 2012, Gleneagles in 2015, Churchill in 2017, Saxon Warrior in 2018 and finally Magna Grecia in 2019.

Now onto some interesting facts to note:

The fastest winning time was 1 minute 34.72 seconds achieved by the latest winner Kameko in 2020.

The widest winning margin (since 1900) is Tudor Minstrel in 1947 who won by 8 lengths.

The biggest priced winner was Rockavon in 1961 at 66/1.

The shortest priced winner was St Frusquin in 1896 at 12/100

The biggest field was in 1930 when 28 horses ran.

The smallest field was in 1829 and 1830 when each time only 2 horses ran.

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So there we have it, some interesting facts, figures and records in the race. Today’s renewal should be exciting as it always is and I, for one, am quite looking forward to it. I hope you enjoyed this post and I will hopefully see you all tomorrow for an extra post where I look at the history of the 1000 Guineas ahead of tomorrow’s renewal!

Thank you for reading!

An Interview with Julie Camacho

Posted in Horse Racing, Interviews by

Hi guys!

Welcome to today’s blog another exciting one to bring to you all. An interview with Julie Camacho! I thoroughly hope you all enjoy!

Me: What’s your favourite day of the racing calendar?

Julie: The York Dante meeting because it brings good horses to our local track and is an indication that the flat season is really getting going!

Me: If you could train one horse that is currently in training elsewhere, what horse would you choose and why?

Julie: Stradivarius because he is so tough and consistent and comes back year in and year out.

Me: Who do you look up to in the racing game?

Julie: There are several people but probably William Haggas because he is so successful every year and yet he is so approachable and always the first person we would ask for help if we needed it.

Me: Do you ever get any down time? What’s your favourite thing to do when you do get some spare time?

Julie: We get every other Sunday off if we don’t have runners and a bit of down time during the winter. We usually try to get away on a family holiday during the winter months although that hasn’t been possible this year, but we managed to get to the Lake District instead. Several of our horses are named after our favourite destinations! During the season downtime, we spend time with family and going on walks with the dogs.

Me: What would you say to anyone who thinks racing is animal cruelty?

Julie: We would welcome anyone who thinks that to come and spend a day at our yard and see how well treated the horses are!

Me: What is your ‘horse to watch’ that you train?

Julie: A mare called Separate owned by Martin Hughes who has joined us from Richard Hannon. She had a very good level of form as a two year old, getting narrowly beaten in a Group 3 at Newmarket. Her form was quieter last year as can often happen with horses who are good two year olds, but she ran with credit several times. She’s had the winter off here and we are hoping she can return to something like her earlier form.

Me: What is your favourite racecourse to visit?

Julie: York because it is our local track, only a twenty minute drive away. It has world class racing and is run by great people.

Me: What’s your favourite race to watch back over the years?

Julie: We often watch back Judicial winning the Coral Charge at Sandown. It was our first Group 3 and he has been such a star for us. The Jockey Club sent a framed video of the race which is in our living room so we get to watch it back whenever we open it!

Judicial winning the Coral Charge at Sandown (07/07/2018) – Photo provided by Julie Camacho Racing

Another one is Lorton winning the £150,000 sales race at Newmarket as a two year old. There were 29 runners that day and you don’t ever think you can win races like that!

Me: What are your opinions surrounding discussions of banning the whip?

Julie: I would support a reduction in the amount of times a jockey is permitted to strike the horse with the whip.

Me: What is your best piece of advice for a young person following their passion, whether that be in racing or something else?

Julie: Get as much advice as you can before you set your goals, but once you’ve decided on what you want to do, be totally committed to achieving it even if it doesn’t come straight away.

As always, I would like to thank Julie and her family for allowing me to speak with them as well as providing some photos for this post. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I hope my readers enjoy it also!

Thank you so much for reading and I will see you all in my next post which will be an interview with Barry Geraghty at 11am on Saturday (16/01/2021)!