Fantastic. Always loved the horse from the moment he ran that gallant 3rd in the Gold Cup. And kept the faith with him after his long lay off. So pleased for him and connections. Saw him on ATR today in his stable looking extremely content with life. Absolutely delighted. Lovely picture Wooly.
Lovely picture, and I'm really pleased that this has happened. One very nice story in the midst of all the bad ones. Fantastic winner - finishing 4m4f like a train.
Indeed ron a very happy horse who always gave everything he had!! An out and out stayer and a very classy one them he was!!
Great picture wooly and thanks for putting it up. Understandably with the tragedies in the race the performance of Neptune Collonges has been overshadowed. It was a fantastic effort by the horse and jockey giving over a stone to the runner up. There was a bit of luck too in narrowly missing fallers on a couple of occasions. A fantastic swansong for a marvellous horse. If ever a horse deserved to get it's nostril in front on the line Neptune Collonges was it. A long and lazy retirement awaits. Top owner too, clearly loves his horses. Apparently has One Man buried in his garden.
i'm so glad there's a thread about him. good old neptune collonges, i've been watching him for a few years, and although i've not got a very long memory for exactly what happened in specific races i think he was a front runner especially for kauto and denman in gold cups. he seemed an uncomplicated horse and i was really pleased when he came into his own and won the argento all by himself. yesterday, as well as daryl jacob finding the right spaces, i'm sure on a couple of occasions he was clever himself finding the right place to land. he has a bigger heart than i imagined and i'm extremely heartened and pleased for his win. his form speaks for itself, barely out of the first 3 in a very big percentage of races he entered. he wasn't just a national winner, to me he was neptune collonges. a significant and gutsy last win for a lovely classy grey. i'll miss him on the track but may he have a long and very very happy retirement.
For all the bad news and discussion surrounding the GN, Neptune Collonges winning was one of the happier moments of the year for me and to retire a hero is right up there with Kauto Star winning the KG on Boxing Day.
A wonderful servant to the sport of Horse Racing, had already won more than £800,000 in prize money before the race on Saturday, and I am very pleased to say this was one of those results that allows you to enjoy a gamble you have had with your heart as well as your head. I'm not even going to mention the price I took or the amount I had on, as it pales into tiny insignificance when contrasted with the achievement of this wonderful animal. He clearly jumped from fence to fence and ran all the way to the line, a proper equine athlete. Neptune Collonges, the unsung hero of Ditcheat, and the classiest winner of a National that I can ever remember. I hope he enjoys a long and happy retirement.
A wonderful horse who I have long had a soft spot for, having watched him romp home around Wincanton in 2008, and he reminded me a good deal of Monet's Garden with his jumping back then. He was talked about when he was ridden as a pacemaker for Denman later that season in the Gold Cup, and many people, myself included suggested that Mr Hales should have sent him to another trainer to give him a fair crack at the big two. I was really upset when he was out with that injury, so to get him back and running at the top level was a brilliant achievement and then he goes and wins the Grand National in a photo finish at the track that we saw the sad demise of Hales' other big grey star One Man. A truly brilliant story and I am so happy for him to retire after such a wonderful race. Reminded me so much of when I watched when I was a nipper.
