He’s crazy good and with some of those leaps he makes, I’m pretty sure he has wings.
WHOA!! What a powerhouse!
Incredible galloper, he has some engine on him. If he could work out the kinks in his jumping, which you’d hope he would as he’s still a Novice over the big fences, he would be something else.
I had to google Thistlecrack’s jockey, Tom Scudamore. What an incredibly nice rider. With the first two green jumps Scudamore’s balance was perfect and hands soft as velvet. That seemed to give Thistlecrack the confidence he needed to stretch those jumps out until he was flying them brilliantly. Those last two jumps were big and bold! That was a perfect ride for a green horse, in fact a perfect ride for any horse. I loved watching that. Thanks for posting this!
Tom Scudamore has it in his bones. Son of Peter, Grandson of Michael.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/07/michael-scudamore-head-racing-dynasty-dies
I didn’t know Tom Scudamore was part of such a great legacy.
I have watched that link five more times since my post.
Have seen some photos of this great horse. Truly tremendous
Thanks for posting that, really enjoyed such great racing.
Love it
He and Cue Card are entered in the Cheltenham Gold Cup along with more than 35 other horses. The meet starts March 14th.
He runs differently than the other horses, almost looks collected because the others have their heads and necks more up and open. On personal appeal I would choose the number 3 horse.
The horse and jockey are brilliant.
I think whoever conditioned that horse and had him peaking on just the right day deserves a shout out too.
love the way he runs also. Looks like a sport horse going around the track out there. his stride is breathtaking
His style of running is unusual for a horse running that distance, and would be considered less than ideal, you’d ideally want a horse to relax and stretch out. But it works for him.
His sire and damsire were both Ascot Gold Cup winners and fantastic stayers. Niether of them galloped like that.
Here is his sire Kayf Tara winning the '99 Irish St Leger… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOFCUk-knY
Here is some footage of him being paraded as NH stallion, lovely looking horse… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuEUgVb21a0
His damsire, Ardross, is generally considered one of the top three stayers ever. He was also good enough quality to cut back to 12f and finish 2nd, beaten a short head, in the Prix de l’Arc as a 6yo. One of the most underrated horses of all times IMO.
Here is his Arc run, came like a freight train at the end, another stride or two and he wins… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpQtE8WlgPc
In fact, Thistlecrack has four Ascot Gold Cup winners in his first four generations (Kayf Tara, Ardross, Levmoss, Owen Tudor) and the champion Fench stayer Vulgan. Pretty friggin’ amazing when you think about it.
Awful sad news today from Cheltehnam. Thistlecrack was beaten by a head in the Cotslwold Chase by 2015 Grand National winner Many Clouds. Moments after the finish Many Clouds collapsed and died.
