Brigadier Gerard was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 1970 until October 1972, he won seventeen of his eighteen races. The colt is rated the best racehorse trained in Britain in the 20th century.
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile, and it is scheduled to take place as part of British Champions Day each year in October.
The Sandown Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile at Sandown Park in late April.
The Henry II Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 2 miles and 50 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May.
The Temple Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 5 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.
The Celebration Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August.
The Bet365 Gold Cup is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April.
The Sandown Classic Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards at Sandown Park in late April.
The Gordon Richards Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards at Sandown Park in late April.
The Diomed Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile and 113 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May or early June.
The Solario Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 7 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August or early September.
The Heron Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May.
Joseph Mercer, OBE was an English thoroughbred race horse jockey. He was active from 1947 to 1985, riding 2,810 winners in Britain. Mercer's nickname was "Smokin' Joe.”
Premonition (1950–1970) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from autumn 1952 until July 1954 he ran fourteen times and won eight races. He won the Classic St Leger as a three-year-old in 1953, a year in which he also won the Great Voltigeur Stakes and was controversially disqualified in the Irish Derby. He won the Yorkshire Cup as a four-year-old in 1954 before being retire to stud, where he made very little impact as a stallion.
Darius (1951–1968) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the Classic 2000 Guineas in 1954. In a racing career which lasted from the spring of 1953 until November 1955 he ran twenty-one times, won nine races and was placed on ten occasions. He was one of the best British two-year-olds of his generation, winning four races including the July Stakes and the Champagne Stakes. In the following year he won the 2000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes, finished second in the Eclipse Stakes and third in both The Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He won three more races as a four-year-old including the Eclipse Stakes. After a disappointing run in the Washington, D.C. International Stakes he was retired to stud where he had considerable success as a sire of winners.
Queen's Hussar (1960–1981) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won the Washington Singer Stakes as a two-year-old in 1962 before taking the Lockinge Stakes and the top-class Sussex Stakes in 1963. He was retired to stud where his record was initially disappointing. However, he went on to sire the classic winners Brigadier Gerard, the highest-rated British horse of the twentieth century, and Highclere.
Petition (1944–1964) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was officially rated the second-best two-year-old in Britain in 1946 when he won the New Stakes, Richmond Stakes, Gimcrack Stakes and Champagne Stakes. He won on his debut in 1947 but sustained an injury when finishing unplaced in the 2000 Guineas and failed to win in two subsequent races that year. In 1948 he returned to his best form to beat a strong field in the Eclipse Stakes. He was retired to stud where he became a successful and influential breeding stallion.
Gunner B was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from May 1975 until October 1978 he contested thirty-three races, winning fourteen times, finishing second five times and third seven times. Originally trained in Yorkshire, he won twice as a two-year-old in 1975 before becoming a highly successful handicapper in the following season, when he won the Cecil Frail Handicap, Andy Capp Handicap and the Doonside Cup. He won three races in 1977 including the Group Three Diomed Stakes but appeared to have been well-exposed as a tough, consistent horse who was some way below the best. After joining the stable of Henry Cecil in 1978, however, he emerged as a genuinely top-class horse winning the Earl of Sefton Stakes, Brigadier Gerard Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Eclipse Stakes and Valdoe Stakes as well as finishing second in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup and third in the Champion Stakes. After his retirement from racing, he became a very successful sire of National Hunt horses. He died in 2003 at the age of thirty.
Connaught (1965–1987) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Noted for his difficult temperament and front-running style, he won seven of his sixteen races in a track career which lasted from October 1967 to July 1970. Owned and bred by Jim Joel, he was trained by Noel Murless and ridden in most of his races by Sandy Barclay.
