Taghrooda

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Introduction

 

With just 6 races to its name and 4 wins, the name of Taghrooda is still one that not everybody will be sure of. However, it’s a horse that has shot to fame as she won the Oaks Stakes and then won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. With second place and third finishes at events such as the Yorkshire Oaks and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Taghrooda was a one-hit wonder that had a single season in the racing circuit, lifting three major honours in that period of time.

 

Career Summary

 

A bay frilly raised in the Shadwell Stud, Taghrooda is a horse that was a foal from the Sea The Stars racehorse. Her first race came at two years old, when it was a 20/1 outsider but went on to win in a surprising race where she took the finish from Casual Smile – the favourite with the experts – and gaining a lot of attention as a result.

 

As a three-year-old, she raced her only season. Ridden by Paul Hanagan, becoming a quick favourite for the Epsom Oaks having impressed in early races in the season. It won the Epsom Downs race in the same year, having comfortable won it in the end – just as Hanagan had planned.

 

Missing out on the Irish Oaks, it went straight to the big-hitting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. There, she took her chance and won the major race, retiring at the end of the season with second and third place finishes. It was a shame to see her leave so early, but trainers expected that she perhaps lacked the capacity to go any further and had run her course.

 

Achievements & Highlights

 

 

Wins – Pretty Polly Stakes (2014), Oaks Stakes (2014), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2014)

 

Associations – Shadwell Stud, Hamdan al Maktoum, John Gosden.

 

Earnings – £1.475m.

 

 

Kempton Park Racecourse

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Kempton Park is among the busiest horse racing venues across Europe, and has hosted some enlivening race meetings over the years. The racecourse is also an entertainment venue that offers conferencing facilities. Kempton Park is often used for small to medium scale
events whenever there is no racing going on. With an all-weather track , the racecourse can host races all through the year no matter the weather. Jump racing starts in October and goes on to the month of April, and flat racing is held every afternoon and evening on the all-weather track all year round.

The racecourse is located at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England. It was opened in 1878, and has been hosting
flat racing and National Hunt racing since then. The most anticipated race meeting is the Grade 1 King George VI Chase which comes on Boxing Day. The Grade 1 King George VI Chase is part of the William Hill Winter Festival. Other notable races that take place here include the Feltham Novices’ Chase which is also a grade1 race that happens on Boxing Day. Horse racing continues on the following day with the Desert Orchid Chase which is a grade 2 race. The other notable race at Kempton Park the BetBright Stakes takes place in the last week of February. The Sirenia Stakes comes in early September as another highly anticipated race day. Kempton Park hosts other races including the Hyde Stakes, Sunbury Stakes, Masaka Stakes, London Mile, Wild Flower Stakes and the Dragon Fly Stakes among others.

Kempton Park has two racecourses which accommodate all the activity throughout the year. The all-weather course, which was opened in March 2006, is a polytrack synthetic course that comes complete with flood lights. The National Hunt course is a triangular circuit with a tun-in 220 yards long.

As an entertainment venue, Kempton Park has always maintained the highest standards of hospitality, which comes with a lot of family fun. Market days also draw people in as locals get to buy all the fresh produce they can as well as forage for antiques during the Sunbury Antiques Markets, a bi-monthly market where you will find collector’s items, silver, Victorian jewellery plus many other antiques.

 

Richard Dunwoody

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Introduction

 

A true name within the sport itself, Richard Dunwoody has become a name associated with politics as much as the sport that he excelled at and loved. Now a prominent campaigner for the Conservative Party, at one stage Richard Dunwoody was renowned as one of the best jockeys of all-time. with 1,699 British winners in his career, he led on from his father – a P2P rider – in becoming an elite-level jockey of incredible success.

 

Career Summary

 

Major wins in his vast career included the likes of four wins at the King George VI Chase, two wins at the Grand National and a Cheltenham Gold Cup. With a huge amount of winners in his life, though, Dunwoody is not someone who it would be fair to pick out just some highlights. He’s been one of the most prominent and consistent jockeys of his generation, having become one of the most revered jockeys ever seen.

 

However, Dunwoody also spends a lot of time carrying out charitable acts. in 2008, he worked with Doug Stoup, a US explorer, to reach the South Pole following an incredible 48-day walk. They raised a lot of money for charity, and completed another astounding feat of grit and determination at the same time.

 

Having proven his credentials as an extensively competitive and intelligent man, Dunwoody has gone on to be involved in many different charitable events. Add to the fact that he was the Jump Jockey of the Year five times in a row, and it’s safe to say that his career as both a jockey and a community member has been a success!

 

Achievements & Highlights

 

Major Wins – King George Chase (1989, 1990, 19956, 1996), Grand National (1986, 1994), Cheltenham Gold Cup (1988).

 

Associations – Desert Orchid, One Man, West Tip, Minnehoma, Charter Party.