The A to Z of an action-packed racing year
THE BIG ONE: Jockey Rachael Blackmore kisses the Gold Cup as she celebrates after winning the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase with A Plus Tard. Pic: David Davies/PA Wire for the Jockey Club
Thwarted by stablemate Minella Indo in the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, A Plus Tard made no mistake in the rematch last March. Rachael Blackmore had spent much of the previous 12 months rueing getting sucked into an arm wrestle with Minella Indo too far out in round one and resolved not to make the same mistake a second time. She didn’t. Instead, she opted to play her cards late. It proved an inspired move as A Plus Tard surged clear of his outclassed rivals after the last fence to cross the line 15 lengths clear of his 2021 conqueror. He disappointed on his seasonal reappearance at Haydock last month but a travel-related illness has since been identified as the cause of that lacklustre display. An 11th-hour setback denied him the chance to get his season back on track in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown yesterday but he has the class to bounce back in 2023.Â
The 2022 Flat season wasn’t a vintage one but Baaeed did his bit for the cause even if his achievements failed to truly capture the public imagination. The William Haggas-trained Sea The Stars colt began his four-year-old campaign as a dual Group 1 winner over a mile. He stretched that record over that trip to five in the early part of the summer, winning the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May, the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in July. However, his career-best performance didn’t come until he was stepped up in trip to a mile and quarter in the Juddmonte Stakes at York in August where he proved his greatness with a breathtaking display. A first defeat in his final career start in the Champions Stakes at Ascot in October was a deflating way to finish up but it shouldn’t detract from the brilliance he showcased on that magical York day.
The atmosphere was truly electric ahead of the opening race of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. And it wasn’t just because the faithful were elated at being back at their house of worship after the pandemic-enforced crowdless festival of 2021. That was obviously a big part of it but the anticipation was further heightened by the sense that the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle that opens the meeting had the potential to kick proceedings off with an almighty bang. And boy it did just that, just not as most envisaged. What followed was not a titanic battle between four emerging stars but a scarcely believable procession as Constitution Hill annihilated his rivals, crossing the like 22 lengths clear of classy stablemate Jonbon. Any fears that this might prove a one-off display of staggering brilliance were proven unfounded when Constitution Hill inflicted a 12-length beating to Champion Hurdle runner-up Epatante in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle last month before inflicting another heavy defeat on his stablemate in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on St Stephen's Day. He looks a truly exceptional talent.
It’s almost unheard of for a Cheltenham winner to be booed for his exploits but that strange fate befell poor Delta Work after he had the audacity to deny stablemate Tiger Roll a sixth Festival victory on his final career start. For much of the race it looked like Tiger Roll would give his adoring supporters the fairytale finale they craved but Delta Work refused to read the script and claimed the role of pantomime villain by wearing down the two-time National hero in the final 100 yards. It was an extraordinary final act to a remarkable career.
For many years, it seemed as though Willie Mullins was destined never to win the Gold Cup. Then Al Boum Photo came along to win it two years in a row. That left the Champion Chase as the one remaining championship race to elude the Festival’s most successful trainer. But he couldn’t be denied indefinitely and 2022 was the year that box was finally ticked. In truth, the race fell apart as favourite Shishkin never went a yard and Chacun Pour Soi unseated Patrick Mullins five fences from home to leave the way clear for Energumene to deliver in the hands of Paul Townend. Few would bet against Energumene retaining his crown next March.
The Stayers’ Hurdle is a race with a history of producing repeat winners. Think Big Buck’s. Think Inglis Drever. Think Baracouda. And now think Flooring Porter who, aided by another brilliant frontrunning ride from Danny Mullins, repeated his 2021 triumph last March. He hasn't won in three starts since but given he’ll only be eight when he returns to Cheltenham, his chances of completing the hat-trick in 2023 shouldn't be dismissed.Â
The 2022 Cheltenham Festival produced a host of breathtaking moments but arguably the most dramatic incident of the week came at the final fence in the first race on day three, the Turners Novices’ Chase, when Galopin Des Champs, having seemingly jumped the obstacle perfectly, knuckled on landing to snatch defeat from what would have been a wildly impressive victory. He got back to winning ways when bagging a Grade One at Fairyhouse on his final start last season and put down an early Gold Cup marker when winning the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase earlier this week. If he stays the marathon Gold Cup trip, he could be hard to stop on St Patrick’s Day.
Her year ended with a first career defeat but that shock reversal shouldn’t detract from her achievements in 2022. As was the case in 2021, Champion Hurdles were won at Leopardstown, Cheltenham, and Punchestown and the way she fought when headed in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse earlier this month showed her enthusiasm for the game burns as brightly as ever.
While Britain doubled their haul on their truly abject 2021 tally of Cheltenham Festival winners, an 18-10 Ireland victory again illustrated the rude health of Irish racing. Admittedly, the first three winners of this year’s Festival were all trained in England and the hosts only trailed by two at the half-way stage and one at the end of day three. But Gold Cup day was one-way traffic as the Irish ran riot, winning all seven races.
While 2022 was a year that produced many wonderful moments on the track, the tragedy that befell the De Bromhead family when 13-year-old Jack was killed in a freak accident on Rossbeigh Strand in Kerry in September was a horrible reminder of the fragility of life. While nothing will ever take away the agony of such a loss, the hope is sporting success in the weeks and months ahead can lift the family’s spirits in some small way.
It has always seemed inevitable that Jack Kennedy would one day be crowned Ireland’s champion jockey. However, until now injuries have prevented him from mounting a sustained title challenge. Not this season, at least not yet. Kennedy went into the Christmas period with a substantial lead over Paul Townend and granted fortune on the injury front, he could be hard to peg back. Winning the Savills Chase on Conflated yesterday was the perfect way to crown a fine 2022.Â
The death of ‘The Long Fellow’ at the age of 86 in late May came just days before the Epsom Derby, a race he won a staggering nine times. First successful with 33-1 outsider Never Say Die as an 18-year-old in 1954, Piggott’s final Derby success came in 1983 courtesy of Teenoso. Piggott retired in 1985 but returned to the saddle after spell in prison for tax fraud to stun the sporting world with a fairytale victory on Royal Academy in the Breeders’ Cup. He was 54 years old an the time. The word ‘legend’ is used far too liberally but Piggott certainly meets every criteria to be classified as one.
Before this year’s Breeders’ Cup there was a sense that, by his own incredibly high standards, 2022 had been an overwhelming year for Aidan O’Brien. But that all changed over the course of two days in Keeneland as Team Ballydoyle landed a stunning hat-trick. Mediate got the ball rolling when adding Juvenile Fillies Turf to a CV that already includes a Royal Ascot win. Expect further success to follow for the No Nay Never filly in her Classic season.
The performance of Royal Ascot came on the opening afternoon of the five-day extravaganza when Nature Strip became the first successful Australian raider since Black Caviar back in 2012. The King’s Stand Stakes was expected to be Nature Strip’s ultimate test but come the moment of truth, he was in a different league to his rivals.
Warning: Rant incoming. The biggest problem facing racing at present is a self-inflicted one: There’s simply far too much of it. An inflated fixtures calendar, especially in Britain, allows connections of the best horses with far too many opportunities to swerve each other resulting in far too many uncompetitive small-field races. The overkill is a massive turn-off.
Good things sometimes come to those who wait and Mark Prescott certainly waited a long time for Alpinista. Aged 74, Prescott started his training career in 1970 and has enjoyed considerable success in the decades since. However, Alpinista will be remembered as his pièce de resistance. Prescott took a characterisally left-field approach to training the Frankel filly, sending the admirable grey to Germany to win three Group 1s as a four-year-old. All roads in 2022 led to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on the first Sunday in October and Alpinista read the script brilliantly, travelling like a dream en route to a fairytale success.
A Cheltenham Festival legend herself, the six-time Mares’ Hurdle heroine has produced a son with the potential to possibly scale similar heights. Facile Vega already has one Cheltenham Festival win on his name and one suspects he’ll be adding to that Champion Bumper success next March.
Davy Russell caught most people by surprise when announcing his retirement on a day when the attention of most people was focused on a World Cup final that would prove more than a tad dramatic. His retirement truly marks the end of a golden era of Irish jockeys and his brilliance, especially at Cheltenham, won’t be forgotten any time soon. Robbie Power also called it a day in 2022 and he, like Russell, can reflect with pride on a phenomenally successful career in the saddle. Frankie Dettori will join them in retirement in late 2023, no doubt on the back of a few more Group 1 successes.
Lionel Messi’s exploits in Qatar illustrated that true greats should never be written off and Michael Stoute falls firmly into that category. First successful in the Epsom Derby with Shergar back in 1981, Stoute won the world’s most famous Flat race for a sixth time in 2022, courtesy of the classy Desert Crown. Sadly, that was the last we saw of Desert Crown in his Classic season but Stoute ended the Flat season in style, saddling Bay Bridge to victory in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.
A distant last in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Punchestown equivalent, nobody would have envisaged that Teahupoo would be the horse to finally lower the colours of Honeysuckle. But when the rain softened the ground in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse in early December, Teahupoo had his optimum conditions and he sprang a massive surprise. Spare a thought for Klassical Dream who also got the better of the magical mare but had to settle for second behind Teahupoo.
There were some incredible performances in 2022 but, for its sheer jaw-dropping brilliance, Flightline’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic stands out. Life Is Good set off at a blistering pace that no horse other than Flightline could live with but while the leader, a top-class horse in his own right, ultimately paid the price for his exertions, the winner was able to sustain what looked an unsustainable gallop al the way to the finish line. It was an awesome performance that evoked memories of Frankel’s Guineas success back in 2011.
As mentioned earlier, Gold Cup day was a truly fantastic Friday for the Irish and it was Vauban who got the ball rolling, winning the Triumph Hurdle in fine style to spark a sensational 1,518-1 day four five-timer for Willie Mullins.
With Oisin Murphy serving a suspension, 2022 was a gilt-edged opportunity for William Buick to be crowned champion jockey of Britain and the Godolphin man made no mistake, winning the title in emphatic style.
For racing fans, Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year and this festive season hasn't been any different. At Kempton, Bravemansgame gave Paul Nicholls a record-extending 13th King George success while Constitution Hill was awesome in the Christmas Hurdle. Domestically, there was plenty to digest at Leopardstown, not least Willie Mullin's extraordinary 102-1 six-timer on Tuesday, while Gerry Colombe enhanced his reputation with victory in the Guinness Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick.Â
If he was the type to follow convention, Emmet Mullins probably wouldn’t have run Noble Yeats in the 2022 Aintree Grand National. No seven-year-old had won the world’s most famous steeplechase since 1940 and odds of 50-1 suggested there was little chance of Noble Yeats emulating Bogskar. But Mullins knew his horse had the talent to defy his inexperience and he did just that to give amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen a fairytale finish to his riding career. And the way he won on his return to Aintree earlier this month suggests further big-race success may follow in 2023.
The Brave Willie Mullins has won two of the last three renewals of the Triumph Hurdle and, despite defeat to stablemate Lossiemouth at Fairyhouse on his most recent start, Zarak The Brave still looks a big player in the opening race on Gold Cup day.
