Lord Windermere

Last updated
Lord Windermere
Lord Windermere.jpg
Lord Windermere at Leopardstown in February 2013.
Sire Oscar
Grandsire Sadler's Wells
DamSatellite Dancer
DamsireSatco
Sex Gelding
Foaled11 March 2006 [1]
CountryIreland
Colour Bay
BreederEdmond Coleman
OwnerRonan Lambe
Trainer Jim Culloty
Record27:6-4-3
Earnings£497,694
Major wins
RSA Chase (2013)
Cheltenham Gold Cup (2014)

Lord Windermere (foaled 11 March 2006) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is a successful steeplechaser, winning the RSA Chase in 2013 and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2014.

Contents

Background

Lord Windermere is a bay gelding with a white blaze and three white socks bred in Ireland by Edmond Coleman. He was sired by Oscar, a horse who finished second to Peintre Celebre in the Prix du Jockey Club before becoming a leading sire of National Hunt horses. His other major winners have included Big Zeb (Queen Mother Champion Chase), Rock On Ruby (Champion Hurdle), Oscar Whisky (Aintree Hurdle), Peddlers Cross (Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle), Black Jack Ketchum (Sefton Novices' Hurdle) and At Fishers Cross (Spa Novices' Hurdle). [2] Lord Windermere's name is a reference to the Oscar Wilde play Lady Windermere's Fan. His dam, Satellite Dancer, showed no signs of racing ability when being well beaten in all three of her races in 1999. [3] As a descendant of the broodmare Nantua, she was distantly related to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Nikellora. [4]

As a colt foal, Lord Windermere was sent to the Tattersalls Ireland in November 2006 and was bought for €30,000 by the County Kildare-based Kennycourt Stud. [5] As a three-year-old gelding, Lord Windermere was offered for sale at Tattersalls Ireland in June and at Doncaster in August, but failed to find a buyer. In December 2010, the gelding was offered for sale for the fourth time when he was sent to the Cheltenham Breeze-Up sale and was bought for £75,000 by the trainer and former jockey Jim Culloty. [6] The horse entered the ownership of Ronan Lambe and was sent into training with Culloty at Mallow, County Cork.

Racing career

2011/2012 National Hunt season: Novice hurdles

Lord Windermere began his racing career in novice hurdle races and was ridden in all of his races in the 2011/2012 National Hunt season by Tom Doyle. When Doyle rode the horse for the first time he told Culloty "this is the one you've been waiting for". [7] He made an inauspicious debut, falling at the fourth hurdle when starting a 28/1 outsider at Cork. He was little better fancied when he reappeared at Thurles Racecourse on 17 November, but recorded his first success, beating Golanbrook by six lengths at odds of 25/1. [8] He was moved up in class in December for a Listed race at Punchestown and prevailed by a head from the favourite Dylan Ross. [9] In the Grade I Deloitte Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in February he started at odds of 10/1 and finished fourth behind Benefficient. Lord Windermere returned to winning form at Naas in March, beating the four-year-old Ballynacree by three lengths over two miles. [10] On his last appearance of the season, the gelding made little impact in a Grade II event over two and a half miles at Fairyhouse in April, finishing eighth behind the Jessica Harrington-trained Jenari.

2012/2013 National Hunt season: Novice chases

Tom Doyle kept the ride in the following season, when Lord Windermere was campaigned in novice steeplechases. He made his debut over the larger obstacles on 11 November when he finished second to Dylan Ross at Navan Racecourse. He then finished second to Mikael d'Haguenet at Punchestown on 9 December and then won his first chase three weeks later at Leopardstown, beating the Willie Mullins-trained Marasonnien by two lengths. [11] When moved up in class he finished second to Texas Jack in a Grade II event at Leopardstown on 26 January and third behind Boston Bob in the Grade I Dr P. J. Moriarty Novice Chase at the same course two weeks later.

At the Cheltenham Festival on 13 March, Lord Windermere started at odds of 8/1 for the Grade I RSA Chase over three miles in which he was ridden for the first time by Davy Russell. Before the race Culloty, in an interview with the Festival website explained that he felt the horse would be well suited by racing over a longer distance and on firmer ground than he had previously encountered. [12] Russell restrained the gelding at the rear of the field before beginning to make progress four fences from the finish. He made a jumping error at the next obstacle before moving up to second when Boston Bob fell at the second last. He took the lead 150 yards from the finish and won by one and three quarter lengths from Lyreen Legend. [13] After the race, Culloty said "we knew this horse would like Cheltenham and it's all paid off. I fancied him like mad – I thought he'd love the ground here [7]

2013/2014 National Hunt season

Lord Windermere began his third season in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse in England in which he was assigned a weight of 162 pounds. Ridden by Dougie Costello, he was never able to reach the leaders and finished eighth of the sixteen finishers behind the Nicky Henderson-trained Triolo d'Alene. Costello again took the ride when Lord Windermere finished seventh behind Bobs Worth in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown in December. Russell reclaimed the ride when the gelding started at odds of 6/1 for the Irish Hennessy Gold Cup on 9 February. Lord Windermere briefly disputed second place before finishing sixth behind Last Instalment.

On 14 March, Lord Windermere started a 20/1 outsider for the 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup in a field which included Bobs Worth, Triolo d'Alene and Last Instalment. The race was run later than scheduled after several jockeys (including Ruby Walsh and Daryl Jacob) were injured in earlier races and was further delayed by two false starts. [14] After racing in last place for most of the way, Lord Windermere began to make progress after the fourth last, but was still in eighth place turning into the straight. He jumped the last in fourth behind Silviniaco Conti, Bobs Worth and On His Own. On the run-in Silviniaco Conti and Bobs Worth, racing on the inside, were unable to make further progress and the race for first place turned into a struggle between Lord Windermere, On His Own and The Giant Bolster all of whom drifted to the right side of the course. In a finish described as "dramatic" and "controversial", [15] Lord Windermere prevailed by a short head from On His Own, with The Giant Bolster three quarters of a length back in third. The racecourse stewards held an inquiry into possible interference between the first three finishers, but allowed the result to stand. [16] Jim Culloty, who had won the race three times as a jockey on Best Mate said "Halfway round I was going to sack the jockey! He's not moved a muscle and he's come from nowhere. It's a dream – I'll wake up in a minute". [17] Russell, who had earlier won the Triumph Hurdle on Tiger Roll said "I can't believe it, I was never on the bridle. I was never in the race, the whole field was in front of me for the whole race, I had to sit and suffer the whole way. I didn't use any petrol, I went around the inside and he jumped great. The whole way round I was hunting, I thought the race had gone. I was on the best horse in the race. He was very idle, like he was last year". [18] He also admitted "I honestly thought on the first circuit that I could be pulling him up and keeping him OK for Punchestown. We managed to keep him going though and, all of a sudden, I knew I had a lot of horse under me. I thought I had a squeak jumping the first fence on the second circuit and then, at the top of the hill, I knew we were in with a chance. He's jumped super. If you leave him alone, he has more confidence, so I didn’t want to do anything for show. He's a confidence horse, so I didn’t want to pick my stick up". [15] David Casey, who took the ride on On My Own after Ruby Walsh's injury, said that "with a straight run, I would have won the race". [14]

2014/2015 National Hunt season

On his first appearance of the new season, Lord Windermere was brought back in distance for the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase over two and a half miles on 7 December. He was held up as usual before finishing well to take third behind Don Cossack and Boston Bob. He started 5/1 third favourite for the Lexus Chase three weeks later, but finished seventh behind Road To Riches . In the Hennessy Gold Cup in February, he took the lead approaching the second last but was overtaken at the final obstacle and finished third behind Carlingford Lough and Foxrock. In March Lord Windermere returned to Cheltenham to defend the Gold Cup and started a 20/1 outsider. As in 2014, he dropped to last on the first circuit but on this occasion he failed to make any late progress and was pulled up by Russell at the second last. The horse's owner was unhappy with Davy Russell's performance and insisted that he should not ride Lord Windermere again. Robbie McNamara was booked to ride the horse in the Grand National but after being injured in a fall at Wexford Racecourse he was replaced by Brian O'Connell. Lord Windermere was pulled up before the second Valentine's Brook in the subsequent Grand National.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Lord Windermere (IRE), bay gelding, 2006 [1]
Sire
Oscar (IRE)
1994		 Sadler's Wells (USA)
1981		 Northern Dancer Nearctic
Natalma
Fairy Bridge Bold Reason
Special
Snow Day (FR)
1978		 Reliance Tantieme
Relance
Vindaria Roi Dagobert
Heavenly Body
Dam
Satellite Dancer (IRE)
1993		Satco (FR)
1983		 Blakeney Hethersett
Windmill Girl
Satwa Nonoalco
Sinaia
Greek Empress (IRE)
1976		Royal BuckBuckhound
Royal Charge
Greek LightGreek Star
Only Light (Family:4-h) [4]

Related Research Articles

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.

Bobs Worth Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Bobs Worth is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He has won the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle in 2011, the RSA Chase in 2012 and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2013 at the Cheltenham Festival, making him the first horse since Flyingbolt in the 1960s to win three different races at consecutive Cheltenham Festivals. In 2012, he also won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. Bobs Worth is trained by Nicky Henderson, owned by the Not Afraid Partnership.

Sir Des Champs French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Sir Des Champs was a French-bred, Irish-trained AQPS racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning only one of his five races in his native country, Sir Des Champs was transferred to Ireland and won seven races in succession including the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, Greenmount Park Novice Chase, Killiney Novice Chase, Jewson Novices' Chase and Growise Champion Novice Chase. The 2012/2013 saw the emergence of a rivalry between Sir Des Champs and another Irish-trained chaser Flemenstar. After beating his rival in the Hennessy Gold Cup, Sir Des Champs was regarded as a leading contender for the 2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup in which he finished second to Bobs Worth. He suffered a fatal injury when competing in Point-to-point racing in May 2018.

Bryan Cooper is an Irish National Hunt jockey and is the son of trainer Tom Cooper and his mother is Geraldine Cooper née O'Brien. Cooper was born in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and in his short career to date has scored notable wins at the National Hunt Cheltenham Festival.

Like-A-Butterfly was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who competed in National Hunt racing. Although she did not begin competing in public until she was seven years old she had a successful racing career, winning twelve of her seventeen races, including five at Grade I level. She was unbeaten in three National Hunt Flat races including the Champion INH Flat Race and her first five over hurdles including the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, Deloitte Novice Hurdle and Supreme Novices' Hurdle. She won the Irish Champion Hurdle but missed the whole of the next season through injury. In her final season she competed in steeplechases and won three times including the Powers Gold Cup and the Mildmay Novices' Chase. After retiring from racing she produced five foals before dying of horse colic at the age of nineteen.

Rule Supreme is a retired, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. During a racing career which lasted from May 2001 until December 2009 he won eleven of his forty-six races and was placed on nineteen occasions. He showed some promise in his early career but emerged as a top-class performer in 2004 when he won the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse in England and the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil at Auteuil Hippodrome in France. In the following year he won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland. After his career in National Hunt races was ended by injury he had some success on the amateur Point-to-point circuit.

Newmill is a retired, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He reached his peak as an eight-year-old in the spring of 2006 when he won two of the season's most important two mile steeplechases: the Queen Mother Champion Chase in England and the Kerrygold Champion Chase in Ireland. In his early career he showed promise as a novice hurdler winning the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, Barry & Sandra Kelly Novice Hurdle and Johnstown Novice Hurdle. When switched to chasing he won the Paddy Fitpatrick Memorial Novice Chase and Kinloch Brae Chase before recording his most important victories. His later career was less successful although he did win the Red Mills Trial Hurdle in the autumn of 2006 and the Kinloch Brae Chase for a second time as a twelve-year-old in 2010.

Back In Front is a retired, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. The gelding showed early promise in National Hunt Flat races, winning twice and finishing third in an exceptionally strong renewal of the Champion Bumper. He was one of the leading novice hurdlers in the 2003–04 season, winning four races including the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in England and the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle in Ireland. In the following season he won the Morgiana Hurdle and was regarded as a Champion Hurdle contender before being sidelined by injury. Back In Front won the Bula Hurdle in 2004 but ran poorly when joint-favourite for the Champion Hurdle in 2005. He had little success when switched to steeplechasing and was retired in 2007, having won eleven of his twenty-five races.

Big Zeb is a retired, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and was best known for his performances in steeplechases over the minimum distance of two miles. He was slow to mature and made little impact in bumpers and hurdle races before being switched to chasing and winning the Swordlestown Cup Novice Chase in 2008. In the following season he won the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase but fell twice in five races. He reached his peak in the 2009/2010 season when he won the Fortria Chase and the Tied Cottage Chase before defeating a strong field to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He won the Fortria Chase and the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase again in the next season and rebounded from a defeat in the Queen Mother Champion Chase to win the Punchestown Champion Chase. He won both the Fortria Chase and the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase for a third time in the autumn of 2011 but developed injury problems and failed to win in his remaining five races. He was retired in January 2013, having won thirteen of his thirty-three races.

Fiveforthree Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Fiveforthree was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. In a racing career which was frequently interrupted by injury, he won six of his fourteen races between February 2007 and April 2013. After showing promise in National Hunt Flat races in Ireland, he recorded his first major success when winning the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival. In the following season he made only three starts but won the Grade I World Series Hurdle at Punchestown Racecourse. Plans to campaign the horse in steeplechases never came to fruition as training problems restricted him to four races in the next four years.

Champagne Fever Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Champagne Fever is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is noted for his front-running style and has won seven of his thirteen races. After beginning his racing career on the amateur point-to-point circuit he became the dominant National Hunt Flat performer in Britain and Ireland in 2012, winning the Champion Bumper and the Champion INH Flat Race. In the following season he was campaigned in novice hurdle races and won two more Grade I races, the Deloitte Novice Hurdle in Ireland and Supreme Novices' Hurdle in England. In his first season over steeplechase fences he won one minor race and finished second in the Arkle Challenge Trophy and in the following year he added win in the Clonmel Oil Chase and Red Mills Chase.

More Of That Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

More Of That is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. After winning his only race as a novice he won two handicaps and the Grade II Relkeel Hurdle before taking the Grade I World Hurdle at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival.

Klairon Davis was a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. In a racing career which lasted from April 1993 and May 2001, he won twenty of his fifty-four races and was placed on sixteen occasions. After beginning in National Hunt Flat races he competed over hurdles winning the Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle in 1994. In the following season he raced in novice chases and recorded major wins in the Dennys Gold Medal Chase, Arkle Novice Chase and Arkle Challenge Trophy. In 1996 he had his biggest success when taking the Queen Mother Champion Chase and followed up in the BMW Handicap Chase. He was never as good again, but won a second BMW Chase in 1997 and took the Normans Grove Chase in 1998, 1999 and 2001 before retiring at the age of twelve. During his career he had sustained rivalries with the leading Irish jumpers Sound Man and Merry Gale.

Vautour (horse) French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Vautour was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and won three times at the Cheltenham Festival. After beginning his racing career in France he moved to Ireland and made an immediate impact over hurdles in the spring of 2014 winning the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, Deloitte Novice Hurdle, Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Tattersalls Champion Novice Hurdle.

Coneygree 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.

Don Cossack (horse) 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.

Thistlecrack British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Thistlecrack is a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races. Unraced until he was five years old, he recorded his first win in a National Hunt Flat race in 2014. In the 2014/15 National Hunt season he won two minor hurdle races before improving when tried over long distances and winning the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle. In the following season he established himself as the best staying hurdler in Britain with wins in the Long Distance Hurdle, Long Walk Hurdle, Cleeve Hurdle, World Hurdle and Liverpool Hurdle. When switched to steeplechasing in the following season he made an immediate impact, taking the Worcester Novices' Chase before beating more experienced horses in the King George VI Chase.

Djakadam French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Djakadam is a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races.

Special Tiara British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Special Tiara was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. He specialised in steeplechases over the minimum distance of two miles and was a confirmed front-runner who usually attempted to lead from the start. He scored his first major success in 2013 when he won the Maghull Novices' Chase and went on to win the Celebration Chase in 2015 and two editions of the Desert Orchid Chase. In March 2017 he recorded his biggest success when he took the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the fourth attempt. He was euthanized after sustaining an injury in the 2019 Dublin Chase at Leopardstown.

Sizing John 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lord Windermere pedigree". Equineline. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  2. ↑ "Oscar Stud Record". Racing Post. 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  3. ↑ "Satellite Dancer Record By Race Type". Racing Post. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  4. 1 2 "Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Poinsettia – Family 4-h". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale November 2006". Racing Post . Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  6. ↑ "Cheltenham NH Breeze Up Sale December 2010". Racing Post . Archived from the original on 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  7. 1 2 Nick Robson (2013-03-13). "Cheltenham Festival: Jim Culloty rides Lord Windermere to victory in the RSA Chase". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  8. ↑ "Munster 5-y-o Maiden Hurdle result". Racing Post. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Punchestown Novice Hurdle result". Racing Post. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Naas Racecourse Novice Hurdle result". Racing Post. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  11. ↑ "Ballymaloe Country Relish Beginners Chase result". Racing Post. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  12. ↑ Jon Wilde (21 February 2013). "2013 RSA Chase – Jim Culloty confident of big run from Lord Windermere". Cheltenhamfestival.net. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. ↑ "RSA Chase result". Racing Post. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  14. 1 2 Chris Cook (14 March 2014). "Lord Windermere wins Cheltenham Gold Cup after stewards' inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  15. 1 2 Marcus Armytage (14 March 2014). "Controversy reigns after Lord Windermere wins dramatic Cheltenham Gold Cup". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  16. ↑ "Cheltenham Gold Cup result". Racing Post. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  17. ↑ Cornelius Lysaght (14 March 2014). "Lord Windermere triumphs in Gold Cup thriller". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  18. ↑ Tom Peacock, Ashley Iveson (14 March 2014). "Lord Windermere comes from last place to win Gold Cup". The Independent . Retrieved 2014-03-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.