Knock Hard | |
---|---|
Sire | Domaha |
Grandsire | Vatout |
Dam | Knocksouna |
Damsire | Beresford |
Sex | Gelding |
Foaled | 1944 [1] |
Country | Ireland |
Colour | Chestnut |
Owner | Moya & Harry Keogh Francis More O'Ferrall |
Trainer | Vincent O'Brien |
Major wins | |
Great Yorkshire Chase (1953) Cheltenham Gold Cup (1953) |
Knock Hard (foaled 1944) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1953 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He showed good form on the flat, winning the Irish Lincoln Handicap and finished second in the Irish Cesarewitch and the November Handicap. As a steeplechaser he was a fast but unreliable jumper who fell when well fancied in both the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the 1951/52 National Hunt season. In the following year his early form was inconsistent but he then won the Great Yorkshire Chase before defeating a strong field in the Gold Cup. His subsequent form deteriorated and he was retired to become a hunter in England.
Knock Hard was a chestnut gelding with a narrow white blaze and white socks on his hind legs bred in Ireland. His sire Domaha was a successful National Hunt stallion whose other offspring included Dormant who won the Whitbread Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase as well as finishing second to Arkle in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Knock Hard's dam Knocksouna was half-sister to Florrie, the dam of the Irish Derby winner Thirteen of Diamonds. She was also a great-granddaughter of Princess Dorrie who won the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks Stakes 1914 and was a half-sister to Sunstar. [2]
The wartime market for yearlings was depressed and Knock Hard fetched only 75 guineas when put up for auction in 1945. [3] During his racing career, the gelding was owned by Moya and Harry Keogh and trained by Vincent O'Brien in County Cork before moving to Ballydoyle from 1951. O'Brien made a major impact on British jump racing in the decade after World War II sending out Cottage Rake to win three Gold Cups and Hatton's Grace to win three Champion Hurdles before training three consecutive Grand National winners in Early Mist, Royal Tan and Quare Times. [4]
Knock Hard began his career on the flat and developed into a high-class handicapper. In November 1950 he was the subject of a major gamble for the Irish Cesarewitch but was beaten by his stablemate Hatton's Grace after his amateur jockey ignored the trainer's instructions and went to the front too soon. In the following spring he won the apparently competitive Irish Lincoln Handicap over one mile, opening up a clear lead after three furlongs and winning by six lengths. [3] O'Brien actually admitted that Knock Hard was essentially a flat racer and had "no natural aptitude for jumping". [5]
Knock Hard had been tried over fences before his win in the Irish Lincoln and in the 1951/52 National Hunt season he developed into a high-class steeplechaser. In December he was sent to race in England for the first time for the King George VI Chase but fell in a race won by the six-year-old Statecraft. He was going well at the time and his rider Phonsie O'Brien (younger brother of the trainer) stated that if he had not fallen he would have won by fifteen lengths. [5]
On 6 March 1952 Knock Hard made his first attempt to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and started the 5/1 second favourite in a thirteen-runner field. [6] Ridden again by Phonsie O'Brien he was closing on the leaders and looked likely to win [7] when falling at the penultimate obstacle. [5]
In the late autumn of 1952 Knock Hard returned to the flat and finished second to the three-year-old Summer Rain (winner of the Chester Vase) in the November Handicap at Manchester Racecourse. [7] He jumped poorly when unplaced behind Halloween in the King George VI Chase and was beaten again when conceding 20 pounds to Mariner's Log at Leopardstown. The horse's performance in the latter race saw O'Brien summoned to appear before the stewards of the Irish Turf Club who suspected that Knock Hard's poor performance had been engineered by his connections to improve his odds in future races. [3] After two disappointing runs Vincent O'Brien had the gelding examined by a Dublin vet who diagnosed a potentially serious heart problem. O'Brien decided to continue racing the horse but only after explaining the risks to his owner and to his jockey Tim Molony. Knock Hard was back in England in early 1953 for the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster Racecourse and won from the 1952 Grand National winner Teal to whom he was conceding weight. [5]
On a cold, misty day at Cheltenham on 5 March he made his second attempt to win the Gold Cup. He started at odds of 11/2 against eleven opponents including Halloween (the favourite), Mont Tremblant, E.S.B., Mariners Log and Teal. Knock Hard was not amongst the early leaders and when the horses emerged from the fog approaching the third last he appeared to be out of contention as E.S.B., Mont Tremblant, Galloway Braes and Rose Park disputed the lead. Mont Tremblant soon weakened and Rose Park fell at the second last but Knock Hard began to make rapid progress. He took the lead at the last and drew away up the run-in to win by five lengths and two lengths from Halloween and Galloway Braes. [3]
In March 1954 Knock Hard attempted to repeat his 1953 success in the Gold Cup but struggled on the heavy ground and finished fifth of the nine runners behind Four Ten, Mariner's Log, Halloween and Mont Tremblant. [5]
Knock Hard later was bought by Francis More O'Ferrall. His form deteriorated further and he was given away to Lady Jane Lumley, the daughter of Lord Scarbrough and he was moved to England to become a hunter. He collapsed and died approximately two years later, probably due to a recurrence of his heart condition. [3]
In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Knock Hard a "superior" Gold Cup winner. [8]
Sire Domaha (FR) 1934 | Vatout (FR) 1926 | Prince Chimay | Chaucer |
---|---|---|---|
Galorette | |||
Vashti | Sans Souci | ||
Vaya | |||
Proserpine (FR) 1928 | Eugene de Savoie | Jacobi | |
Yolande | |||
Prahova | D'Or | ||
La Prevoyante | |||
Dam Knocksouna (IRE) 1938 | Beresford (GB) 1921 | Friar Marcus | Cicero |
Prim Nun | |||
Bayberry | Bayardo | ||
Catalpa | |||
Cloudless (GB) 1928 | Thunderer | Sunstar | |
Lauda | |||
Queen of Diamonds | Polymelus | ||
Princess Dorrie (Family: 5-i) [2] |
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 born at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath, and bred by Mrs Mary Alison Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin. He was named after the mountain Arkle in Sutherland, Scotland that bordered the Duchess of Westminster’s Sutherland estate. Owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, he was trained by Tom Dreaper at Greenogue, Kilsallaghan in County Meath, Ireland, and ridden during his steeplechasing career by Pat Taaffe.
Vincent O'Brien was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll hosted by the Racing Post. In earlier Racing Post polls he was voted the best ever trainer of national hunt and of flat racehorses. He trained six horses to win the Epsom Derby, won three Grand Nationals in succession and trained the only British Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky, since the Second World War. He was twice British champion trainer in flat racing and also twice in national hunt racing; the only trainer in history to have been champion under both rules. Aidan O'Brien took over the Ballydoyle stables after his retirement.
Vintage Crop was a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for becoming the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win Australia's premier race the Melbourne Cup. The chestnut gelding competed in flat racing in Ireland, England, and Australia from 1992 to 1995. He won 16 races in Ireland, England, and Australia. For his performance during the 1993 racing season he earned the Cartier Award for Top Stayer.
Henry Ryan Price was a British Thoroughbred horse trainer in both flat and National Hunt racing.
Nicholas John Henderson is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times.
Timothy James Murphy is a former National Hunt and now current Flat racing jockey who overcame difficult personal problems to win the 2008 Grand National at Aintree Racecourse on the horse Comply or Die. He recorded his 1,000th winner at Taunton on 21 January 2010. He won the Scottish Grand National on Merigo in 2010 and 2012. He was the winner of the 2005 Jump Jockey of the Year at the Lester Awards.
Imperial Call was an Irish racehorse. He was a specialist steeplechaser who ran thirty-two times and won sixteen races under National Hunt rules. After showing promise as a hurdler and novice chaser, Imperial Call emerged as a top-class jumper with a win in the Hennessy Gold Cup in February 1996. A month later, he became the first Irish-trained horse for ten years to win Britain's most prestigious steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. His subsequent career was disrupted by injury problems but he won further major races including the Punchestown Chase in 1998 and the Punchestown Gold Cup in 1999. Unlike most modern racehorses, Imperial Call was not a Thoroughbred.
Halloween was a British National Hunt horse best known for being the first horse to win two King George VI Chases and for being placed four times in the Cheltenham Gold Cup without winning the race. Racing during the 1950s, he and another British chaser, Galloway Braes, had a competitive rivalry and were extremely popular with racing fans.
National Spirit was a British National Hunt horse best known for winning the Champion Hurdle twice, as well as the Rank Challenge Cup at Fontwell three times. He was one of the best hurdlers in the post-war era, and was also an excellent dual-purpose horse, winning several major races on the Flat. Along with Irish hurdler Hatton's Grace, National Spirit was one of the most popular horses of his time
Albertas Run was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. He won two National Hunt Flat races and became a successful hurdler, winning the National Hunt Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final and the John Smith's Extra Cold Handicap Hurdle in 2007. He became more successful as a Steeplechaser, winning four Grade I races: the Royal and SunAlliance Chase, the Melling Chase and two runnings of the Ryanair Chase. His other wins included the Reynoldstown Novices' Chase, the Amlin 1965 Chase and the Old Roan Chase.
William Parker Dutton (1901–1958) was a British jockey and Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
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.
Charter Party was an Irish-bred British-trained thoroughbred racehorse, best known for his win in the 1988 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He overcame persistent injury problems to win twelve races under National Hunt rules. He showed promise as a hurdler and as a Novice steeplechaser before recording his first major win in the 1986 National Hunt Handicap Chase. As a ten-year-old in 1988 he defeated Desert Orchid in the Gainsborough Chase, before taking the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March. He never won again, but produced a fine effort to finish third on heavy ground in the 1989 Gold Cup.
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.
Silver Fame was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his racing career in Ireland he moved to England and became one of the leading steeplechasers of his time. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1948 and 1950 and ran twice in the Grand National, falling when favourite for the race in 1948. Despite running extremely well at Cheltenham he did not contest the Gold Cup until 1951 when he won the race in record time. He was also the oldest winner of the race up to that time, and remains one of only two horses to win the race at the age of twelve. He spent his retirement as a hunter.
Mont Tremblant was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1952 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Originally trained in France, he was switched to a British stable and made an immediate impact, defeating a strong field to win the Gold Cup as a six-year-old. In the following season he finished third in the King George VI Chase and fourth in the Gold Cup before producing arguably his best performance by running second under top weight in the Grand National. His later career was repeatedly interrupted by injury.
Four Ten was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1954 Cheltenham Gold Cup. A former point-to-pointer he was professionally trained near Cheltenham Racecourse by John Roberts and won the National Hunt Handicap Chase at his local course in 1953. In the following season he made rapid improvement and defeated a strong field to win the Gold Cup in March. He went on to finish third in the 1955 Gold Cup and won several other good steeplechases. He died in 1971.
Gay Donald was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1955 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Bred and trained in Wiltshire he made steady progress through the steeplechaseing ranks in the 1953/54 National Hunt season and developed into a top-class performer in the following year. He started a 33/1 outsider for the 1955 Gold Cup but won easily from a strong field. His later career was hampered by injury but he won several more races and finished third in the 1958 Gold Cup before being retired from racing at the age of thirteen.
Limber Hill was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1956 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was owned and bred by James Davey and trained in Yorkshire by Bill Dutton. After racing on the point-to-point circuit he then ran over hurdles before becoming a steeplechaser in 1954. He made an immediate impact and won the National Hunt Handicap Chase at the end of his first season. In the 1955/56 National Hunt season he was the leading staying chaser in Britain winning both the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He continued to race until 1958 but his later career was disrupted by injury and he never recovered his best form.
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.