Four Ten
Four Ten | |
---|---|
Sire | Blunderbuss |
Grandsire | Blandford |
Dam | Undue Praise |
Damsire | Felicitation |
Sex | Gelding |
Foaled | 1946[1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Alan Strange |
Owner | Alan Strange |
Trainer | Alan Strange John Roberts Alec Kirkpatrick |
Major wins | |
National Hunt Handicap Chase (1953) Cheltenham Gold Cup (1954) |
Four Ten (1946 – 1971) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1954 Cheltenham Gold Cup. A former point-to-pointer he was professionally trained near Cheltenham Racecourse by John Roberts and won the National Hunt Handicap Chase at his local course in 1953. In the following season he made rapid improvement and defeated a strong field to win the Gold Cup in March. He went on to finish third in the 1955 Gold Cup and won several other good steeplechases. He died in 1971.
Background
Four Ten was a bay gelding standing 17 hands high, with a white blaze bred by his owner Alan Strange, a dairy farmer from Spetisbury in Dorset. The horse, named after a type of small-bore shotgun.,[2] was probably the best horse sired by Blunderbuss, a once-raced son of Blandford. Four Ten's dam Undue Praise was a daughter of the Ascot Gold Cup winner Felicitation and a female-line descendant of Mabille, the foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 2-o.[3] She had been considered useless and was scheduled to be put down before being bought by Strange.[2]
Strange originally used Four Ten as a hunter before training the horse himself for races on the amateur point-to-point circuit. The horse ran six times in point-to-points winning four times consecutively before falling in a hunter chase. Strange then sent him to the professional, John Roberts, who trained at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.
Racing career
After his move to the professional ranks Four Ten made an immediate impact. At the 1953 Cheltenham Festival the seven-year-old carried 147 pounds to victory in the National Hunt Handicap Chase.[4]
In the early part of the following season, Four Ten further established himself as a high-class steeplechaser with an "impressive" win over three miles at Cheltenham in November, beating E.S.B. and Mariner's Log.[5] The 27th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup took place on heavy ground on 5 March 1954. The nine-runner field included Knock Hard, Halloween, Mont Tremblant, Galloway Braes (third in 1953) and Shaef (runner-up in 1952). Mont Tremblant started favourite ahead of Knock Hard with Four Ten, ridden by the County Waterford-born Tommy Cusack starting at odds of 100/6. Galloway Braes led until falling six fences from the finish, leaving Mont Tremblant looking the likely winner before he began to struggle approaching the penultimate obstacle. Mariner's Log took over the lead, but Four Ten, relishing the heavy ground, moved up to challenge at the last and drew away up the run-in to win by four lengths. Halloween was another four lengths back in third ahead of Mont Tremblant and Knock Hard.[6]
In the 1954/55 National Hunt season Four Ten won three of his first four races including two wide-margin victories at Warwick Racecourse in December and January.[7] He then attempted to win his second Gold Cup on 10 March. The meeting was run in exceptionally harsh, wintry conditions with the Gold Cup being the only race allowed to take place on the third day. With Cusack again in the saddle he started the 3/1 favourite against eight opponents headed by Halloween, Galloway Braes and Early Mist but finished third behind the 33/1 outsider Gay Donald.[6]
In the following season Four Ten was trained by Alec Kirkpatrick near Andover, Hampshire.[2] He finished third to Halloween in the King George VI Chase and showed good form in January as he led from the start to win the Walter Hyde Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse, conceding 35 pounds to the runner-up. Commenting on the horse's tendency to jump to the left, Kirkpatrick explained that Four Ten would be better suited by a left-handed track and would probably contest both the Gold Cup and the Grand National.[8] He returned for a third Gold Cup in 1956 and was well-fancied[9] but after leading early in the race he finished unplaced behind Limber Hill.[6] In the following year he started a 50/1 outsider for the 1957 Grand National and fell at the third last.[10]
Four Ten won a total of nine races between his second Gold Cup attempt and his retirement. He was euthanised in 1971 at the age of twenty-five.[2]
Assessment and honours
In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Four Ten a "poor" Gold Cup winner.[11]
Pedigree
Sire Blunderbuss (GB) 1934 | Blandford (IRE) 1919 | Swynford | John O'Gaunt |
---|---|---|---|
Canterbury Pilgrim | |||
Blanche | White Eagle | ||
Black Cherry | |||
Drifting Flame (GB) 1924 | Hurry On | Marcovil | |
Tout Suite | |||
Fine Mist | Sunstar | ||
Lorgnette | |||
Dam Undue Praise (GB) 1939 | Felicitation (GB) 1930 | Colorado | Phalaris |
Canyon | |||
Felicita | Cantilever | ||
Best Wishes | |||
Lady Scapegrace (FR) 1929 | McKinley | Macdonald | |
Mrs Despard | |||
Kate Coventry | Argos | ||
Ada Merling (Family: 2-o)[3] |
References
- ^ a b "Four Ten pedigree". Equineline. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
- ^ a b c d "Spetisbury was the talk of the racing world". Western Daily Press. 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Mabille – Family 2-o". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
- ^ "White and Gold" (12 March 1953). "Prince Brownie's Chance". Glasgow Herald.
- ^ "White and Gold" (9 December 1953). "Four Te to beat weight". Glasgow Herald.
- ^ a b c Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-381-0.
- ^ "White and Gold" (29 January 1955). "Four Ten confident choice". Glasgow Herald.
- ^ "Four Ten beats handicap". Glasgow Herald. 30 January 1956.
- ^ "Prospects for meeting at Cheltenham". Glasgow Herald. 28 February 1956.
- ^ Green, Reg (1993). The History of the Grand National: A Race Apart. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-58515-3.
- ^ Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 9781901570151.
- v
- t
- e
- 1924 Red Splash
- 1925 Ballinode
- 1926 Koko
- 1927 Thrown In
- 1928 Patron Saint
- 1929 Easter Hero
- 1930 Easter Hero
- 1931 no race
- 1932 Golden Miller
- 1933 Golden Miller
- 1934 Golden Miller
- 1935 Golden Miller
- 1936 Golden Miller
- 1937 no race
- 1938 Morse Code
- 1939 Brendan's Cottage
- 1940 Roman Hackle
- 1941 Poet Prince
- 1942 Medoc II
- 1943 no race
- 1944 no race
- 1945 Red Rower
- 1946 Prince Regent
- 1947 Fortina
- 1948 Cottage Rake
- 1949 Cottage Rake
- 1950 Cottage Rake
- 1951 Silver Fame
- 1952 Mont Tremblant
- 1953 Knock Hard
- 1954 Four Ten
- 1955 Gay Donald
- 1956 Limber Hill
- 1957 Linwell
- 1958 Kerstin
- 1959 Roddy Owen
- 1960 Pas Seul
- 1961 Saffron Tartan
- 1962 Mandarin
- 1963 Mill House
- 1964 Arkle
- 1965 Arkle
- 1966 Arkle
- 1967 Woodland Venture
- 1968 Fort Leney
- 1969 What a Myth
- 1970 L'Escargot
- 1971 L'Escargot
- 1972 Glencaraig Lady
- 1973 The Dikler
- 1974 Captain Christy
- 1975 Ten Up
- 1976 Royal Frolic
- 1977 Davy Lad
- 1978 Midnight Court
- 1979 Alverton
- 1980 Master Smudge
- 1981 Little Owl
- 1982 Silver Buck
- 1983 Bregawn
- 1984 Burrough Hill Lad
- 1985 Forgive 'n Forget
- 1986 Dawn Run
- 1987 The Thinker
- 1988 Charter Party
- 1989 Desert Orchid
- 1990 Norton's Coin
- 1991 Garrison Savannah
- 1992 Cool Ground
- 1993 Jodami
- 1994 The Fellow
- 1995 Master Oats
- 1996 Imperial Call
- 1997 Mr Mulligan
- 1998 Cool Dawn
- 1999 See More Business
- 2000 Looks Like Trouble
- 2001 no race
- 2002 Best Mate
- 2003 Best Mate
- 2004 Best Mate
- 2005 Kicking King
- 2006 War Of Attrition
- 2007 Kauto Star
- 2008 Denman
- 2009 Kauto Star
- 2010 Imperial Commander
- 2011 Long Run
- 2012 Synchronised
- 2013 Bobs Worth
- 2014 Lord Windermere
- 2015 Coneygree
- 2016 Don Cossack
- 2017 Sizing John
- 2018 Native River
- 2019 Al Boum Photo
- 2020 Al Boum Photo
- 2021 Minella Indo
- 2022 A Plus Tard
- 2023 Galopin Des Champs
- 2024 Galopin Des Champs