Saturday’s Cambridgeshire Handicap has always been traditionally a terribly difficult race to win. Ask Lester Piggott. He desperately wanted to win the race, but retired in the knowledge that the first and last big handicaps of the season (Lincoln and Cambridgeshire) always eluded him. Essentially an almost all-out gallop for nine furlongs, there has been much debate over the years as to whether the race requires a class miler or a ten furlong horse. Statistics tend to favour the latter, and it is remarkable that its first winner, Lanercost, won the Ascot Gold Cup prior to lining up at Newmarket for the race- originally run over the shorter distance of a mile. Early into the twentieth century, the race shot into real prominence as the target of a betting coup by the Druids Lodge Confederacy whose trainer was the Irishman, Jack Fallon. The Confederacy acquired an Irish filly, Hackler’s Pride, and she proceeded to win successive Cambridgeshires in 1903 and 1904. Massive gambles on the horse are estimated to have returned £180, 000- the equivalent of about seventeen million pounds in today’s money. Furthermore, the group repeated the feat in 1909 and 1910, by saddling the colt, Christmas Daisy, to win the same Newmarket handicap. It’s fair to say that my first recollection of the race was in 1958 when London Cry, trained by Sir Gordon Richards and ridden by Scobie Breasley, set a weight carrying record by winning under 9st 7lbs. However, it was in the sixties that the race (like so many in that period) became ultra competitive and attracted Classic winners and contenders..... Eclipse winner, Henry The Seventh, won in 1961, and Harvey Leader’s class filly, Hidden Meaning, atoned for non-entry in the 1000 Guineas, by defying the experts who said no three year old could win with more than 8st 7 lbs. She hacked up as favourite under 9st in 1962. In 1965, Tarqogan gained ample compensation for being placed behind crack Irish colt, Ragusa, in the Eclipse and King George- by surging home. In 1967, Harry Wragg’s Irish 1000 Guineas winner, Lacquer, won under 8st 6 lbs- which highlighted how intensely competitive and difficult to win the race used to be. What chance a Classic winner being given that weight in Saturday’s race? To round off the sixties, top class colt, Prince De Galles, established himself as one of the best Cambridgeshire winners by winning the 1969 running and then repeating the feat as a four year old in 1970- huge compensation for chasing home top class colts in Yellow God, Welsh Pageant, and one of the best post-war fillies in Humble Duty. No reference to past winners can fail to give a mention to John Gosden’s colt, Halling. His four successive wins in 1994 culminated in his Cambridgeshire triumph, and he continued his phenomenal improvement by winning dual Eclipses and Juddmonte Internationals in 1995 and 1996- having been purchased by Godolphin. Voted ‘European Champion Older Horse’ in 1996, he ranks arguably as the best ever Cambridgeshire winner, despite Cap Juluca setting the weight carrying record of 9st 10 lbs in the following year, 1995. Looking at this year’s race, the highest rated three year olds are Maverick Wave and Extremity - off a rating of 98 and carrying 8st 7 lbs. It’s a long way down in class from Lacquer’s success under 8st 6lbs in 1967! Nonetheless, maybe one of them will triumph.
Nice one Tam. The dead-heat of Henry the Seventh and Violetta was quite something and Violetta went on to produce so many good horses including Teenoso's dam for the Mollers. They got both hands on the prize of course with Lacquer, who was Violetta's half-sister. I always thought the 1976 victory of Intermission was a nice story with Stoute being the trainer but Jeremy Tree had traineed her most of her career but felt a move to another stable would do her good. Owned by Jock Whitney she became on e of Juddmonte's root mares. Great race. So many trainers and jockeys tried to win it but to no avail.
The Prince De Galles win was the most confident I have ever been of a Cambridgeshire winner. Can't remember which one it was but he won by a street. I had a feeling that one trainer pulled off an incredible coup in the Cambridgeshire but I can't find any reference. I had a feeling that the horse/trainer might have been Hill Rise/Ryan Price but that isn't right. Now I'm puzzled. Was it one of those or was it a different race; definitely a big handicap and either a mile or 9f.
Ah, just came to me; I think it was Hill House. Must look up that one. Nope that was Josh Gifford and the Schweppes Gold Trophy. I thought it was a flat race. Just ignore me; memory playing tricks.
Ron, you must be drugged- and generate your own cortisone! That was what Hill House did- or so his trainer claimed!
