Racing and trotting Fifty years ago 'Beau’ was everyone’s favourite

Press, 4 August 1977, Page 22

Racing and trotting Fifty years ago 'Beau’ was everyone’s favourite

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SHELLEY CALDWELL

The Grand National Steeplechase, always a highlight of the racing year, had a special distinction in 1927.

The winner. Beau Cavalier. at that time was the second of only two horses which had recorded wins in all of the three principal steeplechases one year. The first horse to achieve this remarkable treble was Coalition when, six years earlier, that gelding won the 1921 Great Northern Steeplechase, the Wellington Steeplechase and the Grand National.

To this day that very difficult treble of steeplechase

wins has only been achieved by one other horse, Brookby Song, which won all three in 1948.

Beau Cavalier had been most impressive in the previous season. Having twelve starts, he won five races,

which of course included victories in the 1927 Great Northern Steeplechase (by eight lengths) and the 1927 Wellington Steeplechase (by six lengths). With form like that behind him it was clear he had the elusive steeplechase treble well within his sights and it ppeared that, even with his top-weight of eleven stone seven he could do it. He certainly was favoured to win right from the early lead-up days.

As the successful favourite in the Grand National he was one of the most popular winners in the event for

many years, and according i to reports on the race he i was a very impressive wini ner too. I He made all his own pace and then, shook off each 1 challenger until he was six lengths clear of the second horse, Peter Maxwell, which had won the event the year before. At a purchase price of I ony 55gn, Beau Cavalier was considered a bargain-base-

ment buy at the time for his owner Mr A. G. Quartley.

By Chesterfield out of a Finland mare, Beau Cavalier went on to win five more races that season, including

the Great Northern Hurdles by two lengths and a half and the Winter Hurdles at Wellington by six lengths.

1877 CONTEST One hundred years ago “The Press” reported: “The New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase takes place today at Timaru. From the number of entries the sport, if the weather holds, promises to be excellent.” In these days of up to the minute information on trackwork, scratchings and general form of the horses racing in the main events at least, it is hard to believe that the above paragraph

served as the preview to the New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase meeting one hundred years ago, which at

that time was considered to be the most important meeting in the racing year. The Grand National was won that year by Fakir but there was little written on the subject. “The race was a very good one, the topweight having the best of it first but a mistake of Hedges in going on the wrong side of a flag, which was followed by most of the leading horses let up Fakir to take command.”

The report did go on to say that Fakir had held his lead and won by a length but details on the race were kept to a minimum. After the publication of the weights, the second topweight, Tommy Dodd, was regarded as the hardest to beat if he was at anything like his best form on the day. The top-weight. Banjo, was thought to have too much weight to be a serious winning prospect. Of Fakir’s chances in the event it was reported that he looked to be weighted with a winning chance but he was considered to be not forward enough to win. But as horses always do and were doing even then in 1877, Fakir proved that he was in fact forward enough to win the Grand National, and did so fairly comfortably.