Horse, Dog & Sports Top Ten Moments of 2016

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This year is unlikely to be remembered too fondly in the context of the “real world” due to the seemingly endless succession of much-loved celebrities and athletes that passed away during the course of the 2016, but in the world of great triviality of horse racing, it has been another tremendous year with no end of memorable moments. Here are just 10 of them.

Frankel’s First Winner

Never before have a sire’s first runners been as anticipated as Frankel’s were in 2016 and they didn’t disappoint, with him putting up some incredible numbers and topping off the campaign by producing a Group 1 winner in the shape of Soul Stirring. It all began for him at Newbury on May 13 when the John Gosden-trained Cunco was declared to run in a six-furlong maiden and become Frankel’s first representative. While the vibes seemed to be cautiously optimistic at best in the face of massive public attention, no one told Cunco, as he powered home to lead in the closing stages and to give Frankel’s stallion career the perfect start.

Awtaad Secures Fairy Tale Success For Kevin Prendergast

Few things engage the emotions of sports fans than a grizzled veteran defying those that had written them off to make a glorious return to the top table and that is exactly what 83-year-old trainer Kevin Prendergast did when saddling Awtaad to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas in May. In doing so, Prendergast became the first Irish-based trainer other than Aidan or Vincent O’Brien to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas since 1986 and it represented his eighth career win in an Irish Classic. The joy that greeted the winning connections as they returned to the parade ring could perhaps only be rivaled in recent times at the Curragh by those that followed the win of the Paddy Mullins-trained Vintage Tipple in the Irish Oaks back in 2003 and it was a day that will live long in the memory of those that witnessed it.

Jet Setting Writes A Rags-To-Riches Story For The Ages

The Curragh was the scene of another remarkable story just 24 hours after Awtaad’s victory courtesy of a truly memorable renewal of the Irish 1,000 Guineas. The race was expected to be all about the 1,000 Guineas winner Minding, with her being sent off as the 4/11 favourite, but the rain-softened ground brought the mud-loving Jet Setting into the equation and after the two engaged in the terrific battle in the closing stages, it was Jet Setting that took the spoils by a head. Jet Setting was giving her trainer Adrian Keatley, who had saddled his first winner as recently as June 2014, and her rider Shane Foley their first Group 1 wins, but it was the fillies’ background that really topped off the story. She had failed to win in four starts as a 2-year-old in England prior to being sold for just 12,000gns at the conclusion of the campaign and sent to Keatley. In just five starts, he transformed her from an 85-rated maiden into a Classic winner. It really was an underdog story worthy of Hollywood.

Lady Aurelia Stuns At Royal Ascot

American-based trainer Wesley Ward and his remarkably precocious 2-year-olds have become a standing dish at Royal Ascot. While his runners have produced some wonderful winning performances over the years, the bar was raised to all-new levels by the truly spectacular success of Lady Aurelia in this year’s Queen Mary S. The daughter of Scat Daddy set out to make the running at what seemed a fast pace in the soft conditions, but rather than folding in the closing stages, she surged further clear to prevail by a sensational seven lengths in what was one of the most visibly impressive performances seen on a British racecourse since Frankel was on the scene.

Quiet Reflection Strikes For The Syndicates

Royal Ascot is arguably the most prestigious race meeting in the world and the majority of the most powerful owners would give their eyeteeth for a winner there, so when a Group 1 winner at the meeting is owned by a syndicate, it tends to garner plenty of attention. That was the case this year when the Karl Burke-trained Quiet Reflection stormed to victory in the Commonwealth Cup, as the Ontoawinner Syndicate that own a significant share of her made their presence felt by celebrating in refreshingly rambunctious style in a Royal Ascot winner’s enclosure that usually hosts far more reserved post-race scenes. While it may have raised some eyebrows amongst the traditionalists, it made for one of the most memorable scenes of the British racing season.

Mrs Danvers An Unlikely Success Story

Rags-to-riches stories in horse racing are what keep many people in the game in the hope that they might be the subject of one of them in the future and there is little doubt that Mrs Danvers will be the inspiration for many a dream in the years ahead. Bought back by her breeder Connie Hopper for just 1,000gns at the Ascot Sales in February, she sent emails to a variety of trainers trying to find someone to lease her to race. Jonathan Portman took a chance on her and the rest is history, as the filly that would be named Mrs Danvers won all five of her starts as a 2-year-old including the valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury and the G3 Cornwallis S. at Newmarket.

Almanzor Stuns In Irish Champion Stakes

Up until Irish Champions Weekend, the merit of both this year’s crop of 3-year-old colts and lack of top-class horses trained in France were hot topics of discussion, but in one fell swoop, the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Almanzor struck a blow against both lines of thought by winning the feature race at Leopardstown. Given an ultra-confident ride by Christophe Soumillon, the son of Wootton Bassett produced a searing turn of foot to see off the future Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Found and stamp himself as one of the leading middle-distance horses in the world.

O’Brien Creates History With Arc 1-2-3

Just when you think Aidan O’Brien has set every record worth setting, he goes and achieves something that few would have even considered possible. Prior to this year, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hadn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for O’Brien, with his 35 runners in the race yielding just one winner and a handful of placed horses. However, he left all that behind him this October by saddling a scarcely-believable 1-2-3 in the race, with Found leading home Highland Reel and Order Of St George. It was a truly remarkable achievement in what is arguably one of the hardest Group 1 races in the world to win.

Minding Stays The Course

Aidan O’Brien has many highlights to look back on in 2016 and a couple of them are sure to involve Minding. The 3-year-old daughter of Galileo proved to be a phenomenon this season, winning five Group 1 races from a mile up to a mile-and-a-half. As remarkable as that is in itself, it is the fact that she began her season on May 1 when winning the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and held her form all the way through the season over a variety of trips until producing arguably her best effort of all when beating the colts in the Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot on Oct. 15 that makes her season so impressive. That win at Ascot was the cherry on top of an amazing campaign.

Highland Reel Trots the Globe

Few horses have trotted the globe to the extent that the Aidan O’Brien-trained Highland Reel has. From the beginning of his 3-year-old campaign last year up until now, he has travelled over 140,000km to racecourses around the world. Despite his arduous travel schedule, the son of Galileo has held his form remarkably well and provided one of the highlights of the international racing year in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita in November. The 4-year-old was given a sublime front-running ride by Seamie Heffernan and duly made the best of the rope he was given by his rivals, running out the easy victor. It was a ruthless performance from a horse that clearly has an iron constitution

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