Bregawn

Last updated
Bregawn
Owner Mr M Kennelly.svg Owner James Kennelly.svg
Racing silks of Martin and James Kennelly
SireSaint Denys
DamMiss Society
DamsireDionisio
Sex Gelding
Foaled1974
Country Ireland
ColourChestnut
OwnerMartin Kennelly/James Kennelly
TrainerMichael Dickinson
Major wins

Cheltenham Gold Cup (1983)
Hennessy Gold Cup (1982)
Peter Marsh Chase (1982)
Great Yorkshire Chase (1982)
Gainsborough Chase (1982)
Mildmay Novices' Chase (1981)

Bregawn (foaled 1974) was an Irish-bred racehorse who developed into a top class steeplechaser. He is best known for winning the 1983 running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, when his trainer Michael Dickinson trained the first five runners home. [1]

Contents

Background

Bregawn was foaled in 1974 in Ireland. His sire, Saint Denys, finished second in the 1962 running of the Irish 2,000 Guineas. His dam was unraced. [2]

Early career

Bregawn went into training with Chris Kinane in Ireland. He won a bumpers event in early 1979, then a maiden hurdle race at Limerick in December of the same year. On his sixth and final start of the 1979/80 season, he was sent over to Aintree, where he finished second in an amateur riders' handicap hurdle. After that run he remained in England and was transferred to the stables of Michael Dickinson.

1980/1981 season

Switched straight to fences, Bregawn ran twelve times during this season, winning on six occasions. The victories came at Market Rasen, Catterick, Wetherby, Warwick, Newcastle and Aintree. He did however fail to complete the course on four occasions, and when he won at Warwick the Raceform representative reporting on the day, Ivor Markham, noted that "he is still inclined to go right at his fences and makes hard work of jumping." [3] Bregawn had progressed enough to take his chance in the Ritz Club Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in March. He was leading in that event when falling three fences from home. The Timeform organisation stated that, "in our opinion Bregawn would have won had he stood up." [4] In his final race of the season he won the Siematic Kitchens Novices Chase at the Aintree Grand National meeting. Bregawn did not have a regular rider during the season and was partnered by a different rider for each victory.

1981/1982 season

Bregawn developed into a high class chaser during this season. He won four of his six starts and in his last run he finished runner up to his stable companion Silver Buck in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Bregawn's winning reappearance in a small handicap chase at Market Rasen was his only start before Christmas. He next appeared in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock Park, where he took advantage of the 19 lb in weight he received from Night Nurse, to beat that rival by five lengths. Bregawn ran again a week later in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster. On his previous two starts he had been ridden by Graham Bradley and Robert Earnshaw, who were both attached to the Dickinson yard. At Doncaster John Francome was aboard. Bregawn started the 11/8 favourite on the strength of his victory the previous weekend. He led four fences from home and won by two and a half lengths from Megan's Boy. With a growing reputation, Bregawn made another quick reappearance seven days later in the Freshfields Holidays Handicap Chase at Sandown. With Robert Earnshaw back on board, Bregawn started the 3/1 favourite, went into the lead five fences form home and beat Saint Fillans by five lengths. Night Nurse, who was concededing 20 lb in weight to Bregawn, was a further two lengths back in third. Bregawn was next seen in the Greenall Whitley Chase at Haydock Park in early March. Starting the 11/10 favourite, he failed by a length to concede 9 lb to the winner Scot Lane, running on strongly late on after being interfered with by a faller two fences from the finish. The Raceform representative was of the opinion that Bregawn, " must be considered an unlucky loser". [5] Bregawn's final appearance of the season came in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This was the stiffest task of his career so far and he started at odds of 18/1 in a twenty two runner field. With Graham Bradley in the saddle, Bregawn was prominent all the way and he and his stable companion Silver Buck fought out the contest from two fences out. Silver Buck eventually came out on top by two lengths, with a twelve length gap back to the third horse home, Sunset Cristo. Bregawn finished the season with a Timeform rating of 174, one pound behind his stable companion Silver Buck, who was voted National Hunt Horse of the Year. [6]

1982/1983 season

Bregawn ran seven times during this season, winning on five occasions, finishing the season with victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning the season with victory in a minor event at Newton Abbott in October, Bregawn was not hard pressed to win the four runner Rehearsal Chase at Chepstow in early November. Bregawn then lined up for the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on the final Saturday of November. Ridden by his now regular rider Graham Bradley, Bregawn carried the second top weight of 11 stone 10 lb, 2 lb lower than the top weight, Night Nurse. Starting the 9/4 favourite, he fought out the later stages of the race with his stable companion Captain John, to whom he was conceding 10 lb. In an exciting finish, Bregawn made a bad mistake at the final fence, nearly unseating Bradley, and started the run-in three lengths behind his rival. He then found extra reserves to chase down and pass Captain John and passed the line three lengths ahead. Describing the performance, Timeform stated," the closing stages of the Hennessy underlined Bregawn's battling qualities and his tremendous zest for racing." Bregawn was beaten in his next start, the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park by his sole rival, the 1981 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Little Owl. Bregawn was said to have pulled a muscle and this would keep him out of the King George VI Chase. Bregawn was next seen on 24 February in the Jim Ford Challenge Cup at Wincanton. In a seven runner event, he started the 6/5 favourite and was beaten half a length by Comb's Ditch. The Timeform representative at the course reported that Bregawn was "very much in need of the race - he looked quite distressed afterwards and blew very hard. [7] " A field of eleven lined up for the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup run on soft ground. Bregawn went off the 100/30 favourite ahead of Comb's Ditch at 9/2. Then came two of Bregawn's stable companions Silver Buck and Wayward Lad at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively. The Fred Winter trained pair of Fifty Dollars More and Brown Chamberlin came next in the betting followed by the other two Dickinson runners, Captain John and Ashley House. In a race famous for Michael Dickinson training the first five home, Bregawn went to the front at the fifth fence and remained ahead from then on, seeing off the strong challenges of stable companions Captain John and Wayward Lad in the later stages of the race. Bregawn passed the post five lengths ahead of Captain John, with a further length and a half back to Wayward Lad in third. There was then a large gap back to the other two Dickinson runners, Silver Buck and Ashley House. Bregawn ended the season as Timeform's best staying chaser, with a rating of 177, behind only the two-mile champion Badsworth Boy, another Michael Dickinson trained horse who received a rating of 179. Bregawn would never repeat the level of the form shown during this season. In referral to the Gold Cup performance, Graham Bradley is on record as saying, " I firmly believe that he was so brave that day and put in so much effort that he was totally exhausted. It blew his mind and, a bit like a boxer who wins a championship but gets badly beaten doing it, Bregawn just didn't want to go through the pain barrier again. [8] "

1983/1984 season

Bregawn ran seven times during this season without winning. He often showed signs of temperament and even refused during the Jim Ford Chase at Wincanton. On other occasions he dropped himself out of contention and tried to pull himself up when tried in blinkers in the 1984 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Timeform organisation, commenting on Bregawn's season, said that he, " fell from grace faster than Icarus", and their advice to punters was, " Bregawn is best left severely alone nowadays. [9] "

1984/1985 season

Bregawn was trained in Ireland during this, his last season racing. His first run of the season was from the stable of Martin Cullinane, and the remaining three runs after being moved to the yard of Paddy Mullins. He won a handicap hurdle at Limerick in March, then was sent to England to run in the 1985 Cheltenham Gold Cup in which he was tailed off when refusing at the last. This was to be his final race.

Retirement

Bregawn enjoyed a long retirement at his owner's stud in Mylerstown, Ireland, spending much of his time out at grass with the owner's foals and yearlings. He died in 2007. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkle</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred champion racehorse

Arkle was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, he was the grandson of the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mary Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin, Ireland, and was born at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath. He was owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, who named him after the mountain Arkle in Sutherland, Scotland, that bordered her Sutherland estate. Trained by Tom Dreaper at Greenogue, Kilsallaghan, in County Dublin, he was ridden during his steeplechasing career by Pat Taaffe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon W. Richards</span>

Gordon Waugh Richards was a British racehorse trainer specialising mainly in National Hunt racing. He trained two winners of the Grand National with Lucius in 1978 and Hallo Dandy in 1984. He also trained One Man to win the King George VI Chase in 1995 and 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master Oats</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Master Oats was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran twenty-one time and won ten races. He campaigned mainly at distances in excess of three miles and was particularly effective on soft or heavy ground. Over a period of sixteen months between November 1993 and March 1995 Master Oats won nine of his eleven races and improved from racing in minor handicaps to becoming the highest-rated staying chaser in Britain. His winning run culminated in a win in the 1995 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He also ran in three editions of the Grand National, twice carrying top weight. His later career was disrupted by injury and he failed to win again after his Gold Cup success. Master Oats was retired from racing in 1998 and died in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodami</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Jodami was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran thirty-nine time and won eighteen races in a career which lasted from March 1990 until February 1997. After winning five races over hurdles, Jodami switched to racing over fences in the autumn of 1991. In early 1993 he won four consecutive races, culminating with a win in Britain's most prestigious steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He also won three editions of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown Racecourse. Jodami's racing career was ended by injury in 1997. He died in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trabolgan</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Trabolgan is a retired, Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. In a racing career which was seriously disrupted by injuries and other health problems, he won five times from seventeen starts between December 2002 and March 2010. After showing promising, but unremarkable form in his early career he showed great improvement when switched to steeplechasing in the autumn of 2004. In March 2005 at Cheltenham Racecourse he won the Grade I Royal & SunAlliance Chase, one of the season's most prestigious races for Novice chasers. On his next appearance in November 2005, he won the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup under the biggest weights carried to victory in the race for twenty years. At the time, he was regarded as one of the best steeplechasers in training, but he never won again: he missed the next three years with injury and failed to recover his form when returning to the track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sire De Grugy</span> French-bred racehorse (2006–2023)

Sire De Grugy was a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He showed promise in his early career, winning the Dovecote Novices' Hurdle at Kempton Park Racecourse in 2011 and emerged as a top class performer with a win in the Celebration Chase in April 2013. In the 2013–14 National Hunt season he established himself as the leading two-mile steeplechaser in Britain, winning the Tingle Creek Chase, Desert Orchid Chase, Clarence House Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He continued to run in top-class two-mile steeplechases without fully recapturing his 2013–14 form, winning one race in each of the following three seasons including a second win in the Tingle Creek Chase, before being retired in December 2017.

Remittance Man was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. He was noted for his consistency, excellent jumping and nervous temperament. Between December 1988 and April 1990 he competed in hurdle races, and showed promise by winning two of his twelve races including the Grade 2 Bristol Novices' Hurdle and never finishing worse than third. When switched to compete in steeplechases he showed immediate improvement and won thirteen of his first fourteen races over fences. In his first season of steeplechasing his wins included the Noel Novices' Chase, Wayward Lad Novices' Chase, Galloway Braes Novices' Chase and Arkle Challenge Trophy. He had his greatest success in the 1991/1992 season when he won the Arlington Premier Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Melling Chase. In the following autumn he won the Desert Orchid Chase and the Peterborough Chase but then sustained a serious tendon injury. He won his comeback race in February 1994 but was beaten in his three remaining races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coneygree</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Coneygree is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. In a career which ran from November 2010 to February 2019 he ran in eighteen races, winning nine times. In March 2015, he became the first novice chaser to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup for more than forty years. His subsequent career was hampered by injury and he did not run again in the Cheltenham Gold Cup after winning it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton's Coin</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Norton's Coin was a British Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for his 100/1 win in the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was an obscurely-bred gelding owned and trained in Wales by Sirrell Griffiths, a dairy farmer who had only two other horses in his stable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Many Clouds</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Many Clouds was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Grand National. After being sold as a foal, he was sent to England and trained for a National Hunt racing career by Oliver Sherwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Cossack (horse)</span> German-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Don Cossack is a retired German-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. Since his second race the gelding has been owned by the Gigginstown House Stud and trained in County Meath by Gordon Elliott. He was ridden by many leading jockeys including Nina Carberry, Davy Russell, Bryan Cooper, Barry Geraghty, A. P. McCoy and Paul Carberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sizing John</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Sizing John is a British-bred, Irish trained thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is trained by Jessica Harrington and owned by Ann and Alan Potts, and is best known for winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2017. He has been ridden in most of his races by Jonathon Burke, but has more recently been ridden Robbie Power, including all four of his Grade 1 wins over fences. He also won a Grade 1 over Hurdles, the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in 2014, and spent much of his early chasing career finishing second or third in races won by Douvan, widely regarded as one of the best chasers of recent times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Owl (horse)</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Little Owl was an English trained racehorse. Undefeated in his first eight completed starts over fences, he was described by Timeform as "potentially one of the most talented steeplechasers since Arkle". Particularly after winning a notably strong Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1981. However, after a series of injuries and a general drop in form, he was never to fulfill his promise and ended his career competing in hunter chases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Buck</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Silver Buck (1972–1984) was an Irish-bred racehorse who became a champion steeplechaser when trained in England by the Dickinson family. He was the winner of the 1982 Cheltenham Gold Cup, and the 1979 and 1980 runnings of the King George VI Chase. He was voted National Hunt Horse of the Year in 1982.

See You Then was an English bred racehorse who won the Champion Hurdle three times. He is one of only five horses to achieve this feat. His career over hurdles consisted of fifteen races, of which he won ten. He had suspect tendons throughout his career which made it difficult to keep him sound. His lack of racecourse appearances eventually earned him the nickname in some quarters of 'See You When'.

Gay Spartan was a British-bred racehorse who began his career in Ireland and progressed into a top class steeplechaser after moving to England to be trained by Tony Dickinson. His career was interrupted by injury, limiting his racecourse appearances when he was in his prime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forgive 'n Forget</span> British racehorse

Forgive 'n Forget (1977–1988) was a British-bred racehorse who developed into a top-class steeplechaser. He was held up and invariably travelled comfortably in his races but sometimes lacked fluency at his obstacles. His biggest success came when winning the 1985 running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He would later lose his life in the 1988 running of the same event.

Pearlyman was a British-bred racehorse who developed into an outstanding steeplechaser over distances of around two miles. His biggest successes came when winning both the 1987 and 1988 runnings of the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Having also won the Grand Annual Chase in 1986, he is in a select band of horses who have won at the Cheltenham Festival in three consecutive years. He had fragile forelegs and was pin fired early in his career. When at his best, his performances were marked by his ability to quicken in the later stages of a race.

Border Incident was a British-bred racehorse who first developed into a high class novice hurdler, then later became one of the best steeplechasers of his generation. He had a tendency to break blood vessels and was plagued by injury throughout his career which limited his racecourse appearances. He was physically strong in appearance though often sweated up before his races. He was trained throughout his career by Richard Head at Rhonehurst Stables, in Upper Lambourn, Berkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midnight Court (horse)</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Midnight Court was an Irish-bred racehorse who developed into a top class steeplechaser when trained in England by Fred Winter. He is best known for being the winner of the 1978 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had the physical build of a chaser but was also a fluent mover. He was hit with leg trouble when at the height of his career.

References

  1. "Dickinson's famous five". 10 March 2003.
  2. "Bregawn Horse Pedigree".
  3. Chaseform Note Book 1980/1981 Published by Raceform Ltd
  4. Chasers & Hurdlers 1980/81 A Timeform Publication Portway Press Ltd
  5. Chaseform Note Book 1981/1982 Published by Raceform Ltd
  6. Chaser & Hurdlers 1981/82 A Timeform Publication Portway Press Ltd
  7. Chasers & Hurdlers 1982/83 A Timeform Publication Portway Press Ltd
  8. 'The Wayward Lad' Autobiography of Graham Bradley Greenwater Publishing 2000
  9. Chasers & Hurdlers 1983/84 A Timeform Publication Portway Press Ltd
  10. "Bregawn, first of the 'famous five', is dead at the age of 34. - Free Online Library".