The Reynoldstown Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February.
Captain Christy was a champion Irish-bred and Irish-trained hurdler and steeplechaser who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a novice.
The Scottish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ayr, South Ayrshire, over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. It is a limited handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.
Sprinter Sacre, is a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse. He currently has the third highest ever Timeform steeplechase rating of 192p, behind only Arkle on 212 and Flyingbolt on 210 as their highest in the modern era.
Bula (1965–1977) was a British National Hunt horse who won two Champion Hurdles and many other top races over hurdles and later over fences. He ran during what is considered a ‘golden period’ for two mile hurdlers in the 1970s, which featured such champions as Persian War, Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Monksfield and Sea Pigeon. Bula was “a remarkably consistent, versatile and durable jumper” and was known for his come-from-behind style.
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.
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.
Faugheen is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Champion Hurdle and back-to-back Christmas Hurdles in 2014 and 2015. His best performance on a racecourse came in the 2016 Irish Champion Hurdle for which he was rated the best two-mile hurdler of the 21st century. His career started over Point-to-point fences as a four-year-old and was sent racing under National Hunt rules in the 2013/2014 season where he emerged as a leading Novice hurdler, winning all of his races including the Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle, Cheltenham Novices Hurdle and Herald Champion Novice Hurdle acquiring the nickname "The Machine" in the process.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Altior is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races. After winning one of his three National Hunt Flat races he was unbeaten in five hurdle races including the Sharp Novices' Hurdle and Supreme Novices' Hurdle. In the 2016/2017 National Hunt season he won six consecutive steeplechases including the Henry VIII Novices' Chase, Wayward Lad Novices' Chase, Game Spirit Chase, Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Celebration Chase.
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.
Bregawn 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.
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.
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.
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.
