It is 50 years, almost to the day, since Arkle won the first of his three Gold Cups at Cheltenham and with it, began one of the legendary duels of Racing history with Mill House.

BETDAQ’s JOHN SHERIDAN takes up the story…..

Irish bred, trained and ridden, Arkle was the prize possession of the Duchess of Westminster and became one of the iconic figures of racing and widely regarded as the greatest steeplechaser ever. Affectionately known as ‘Himself’, Arkle received fan mail from all over the world and with added celebrity brought to him due to the fact that he had two bottles of Guinness in his feed every day, the world was at his feet.

arkle2Having flopped in two Bumpers, Arkle went on to win first time out over hurdles at Navan which prompted one of the most understated comments in racing history when Tom Dreaper was overheard saying to his wife Betty; ‘’I think we might have something here afterall.’’

All connections with Arkle were that of greatness from his trainer, Tom Dreaper, to his jockey Pat Taaffe, even to the stud in which he was born at Ballymacoll, a starting point for many of flat racings best names in recent years.

Arkle’s greatness was such that, the Handicapping system had to be changed to allow for other horses to come within the handicap proper when pitted against him.

Unlike many of our modern day big names, Arkle had to win week in and week out in Handicap company rather than at level weights in Graded races. Despite this, he remained a prolific winner and this is a point that many racing enthusiasts go to when putting their necks on the line to say that Arkle is the best ever.

Three Cheltenham Gold Cups, a King George, an Irish Grand National, two Hennessy Gold Cups, three wins in the Leopardstown Chase and a win in each of the Whitbread, Gallagher, Punchestown and Powers Gold Cups, all between 1963 and 1966. From the strength of these wins, Arkle received a Timeform rating of 212 with only Flyingbolt getting anywhere close to him at 210. To give a modern day take on this, Sprinter Sacre is rated 192 with Kauto Star at 191.

The first of Arkle’s Gold Cup triumphs came in 1964 and was one of the most anticipated battles of the year with another of Jump racings legendary names, 1963 Gold Cup winner, Mill House.

The pair had met previously in the Hennessy Gold Cup in Newbury the previous November with Mill House coming out on top despite giving five pounds to Arkle. Some jumping errors and a slip after the third last cost Arkle that day but at Cheltenham in March there was a very different outcome.

Come March, Arkle put in a foot perfect round of jumping to beat Mill House in one of the most talked about duels in racing. Five lengths was the margin on that occasion and Mill House would never get any closer than that to the great Arkle.

Later that season, Arkle went on to claim a memorable win in the Irish Grand National giving a massive two and half stone to the rest of the field at Fairyhouse, winning by a length.

Arkle claimed the first of two wins in the Hennessy Gold Cup the following season when recording an easy 10 length victory and giving 3 pounds to Mill House. The Gold Cup the following March proved to be yet another procession for the great chaser as he romped to a 20 length win, once again over Mill House.

To finish off the season, Arkle carried top weight in the famous Whitbread Gold Cup and romped home to another big win beating decent handicap company.

arkle3His impressive weight carrying performances didn’t stop there however, as his first run the following season saw him win the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury first time out, beating Freddie who carried 32 pounds less. Mill House was further back then and was even further behind in their final meeting in the Gallagher Gold Cup at Sandown in December 1965 when Mill House was receiving 16 pounds. For good measure, Arkle beat the course record by a full 16 seconds.

In between then and Cheltenham, Arkle recorded his one and only win in the King George Chase at Kempton which meant that he started the Gold Cup at odds of 1/10 which he duly justified by more than 30 lengths at Prestbury Park.

A third win in Chasing Blue Ribband put Arkle into the history books and defeat looked as if it may never come again for Arkle. His superiority was such that fewer and fewer horses began to take him on but those that did, got brushed aside as if they weren’t there.

Arkle won 27 of his 35 starts, with one of the few defeats coming when he was bidding for a third win in the Hennessy Gold Cup the following November. This defeat does not tell the whole story of that race however as Arkle made a disastrous error at the third fence with Pat Taaffe doing well to recover. He went on to a half a length defeat to Stalbridge Colonist ridden perfectly by Stan Mellor who was in receipt of no less than 35 pounds from the Gold Cup hero.

This was to be the last true running of Arkle as in his next run, the King George at Kempton, he was dramatically beaten by Dormant. However, shortly after the race there was shock among the racing community as it was confirmed that Arkle had fractured a pedal bone during the King George and would be retired. It shows the utter determination of the horse that despite this life threatening injury, he ran on to finish second.

The debate of what horse is the greatest Chaser of all time is one that will run for generations. The one element of the debate that is likely to stay is that it will almost certainly always include a comparison to Arkle.

Best Mate, L’Escargot and so many more have been compared to the mighty Arkle and they certainly will not be the last. One thing is for certain is that the legacy of Arkle will live on for many years to come.


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