Captain Christy 1974 Cheltenham Gold Cup

Captain Christy 1974 Cheltenham Gold Cup

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Captain
• Christy
• 1974
• Cheltenham
• Gold
• Cup

[blkbruv]

what memoires!! i'd never seen a horse jump fences as well as pendil did.

[malcs0]

As a further note; Pendil found himself in front too soon in 1973 when The Dikler was driven up his inner to win on the line. Dick Pitman was trying to keep Pendil tucked in for a late challenge. We will never know, but I always believe that Pendil didn't get up the hill, a bit like One Man. Indeed a lot of Pendil's victories were at shorter distances than 3 1/4 miles.

[Annon1100]

I know it's easy to sit here and make comments with the benefit of hindsight, but surely when you are riding a red hot favourite in a Gold Cup you do not track a horse which you know to be a dodgy jumper going into the most difficult fence on the course!! Richard Pitman says Captain Christy and The Dikler blocked his escape route, but they were always likely to alongside him at that stage of the race. At the end of the day he should have positioned himself away from High Ken from the outset.

[sirlagerlot]

I remember taking the afternoon off of school to watch Pendil in the Gold Cup, Gutted when he was brought down I am sure he would have won. Great horse to watch, Fred Winters finest.

[malcs0]

High Ken was actually notorious for doing this; he would be leading, going well, then one fence would get in the way. What you don't see in this clip is that Beasley sent CC up Pendil's outside to keep him hemmed in, having to follow High Ken into that fence. Beasley knew Pendil would be ridden differently to the previous year and was his main danger. A similar incident occurred with Best Mate and Harbour Pilot in 2004 but Culloty managed to sit tight and Best Mate scored his third victory.

[alipitogen]

@alipitogen I also love the quote from Dick Pitman about the same race(75 King George). He said that at the start he(on Pendil) and another jockey (I forget who) agreed that Captain Christy's jumping was dodgy so they shouldn't tail him, but that their worries evaporated because CC and Gerry Newman took off and "we never saw them again!" Captain Christy was that Timeform squiggle incarnate! Could Pendil have beaten CC in that Gold Cup because he won it so begrudgingly?... I'd back CC!

[alipitogen]

@RobinCarmody I love your comment about CC's "staggering" 1975 Kempton performance. If I were asked to name a performance at level weights over 3 miles of fences that would have challenged the great Arkle the most I would name that. The unpredictable Captain Christy was probably almost as good as Arkle when he felt bothered. His trainer Pat Taaffe even said that he would have been damn nearly as good as him except for what went on in his head. Wasn't he in some position to judge?

[olebarca99]

Tough one to call, Both pendil and the captain were Exceptional horses, Pendil always had a high cruising speed, but what a great jumper he was, not sure the captain would have got Away with that mistake if pendil was bang there.

[boysull]

looked to me like christy finished with any amount in hand, pendil as good as he was would have had to go some to beat him, mistake included...as you say though it didn't happen, so....

[ComteLafon]

I think Pendil would have won.  He stayed the distance perfectly well - it's just a matter of timing the challenge. He would have had two to aim for in this race and I think he would have taken them both, particularly with Captain Christy's mistake at the last. This isn't to have a go at the captain - one of the greats, without a doubt - but he had his flaws and if Pendil hadn't been brought down I think those flaws might have cost him victory. Anyhow, it didn't happen, we'll never know.