Frankel just one star of golden decade

PA Sport Reporters
January 1, 2020 2:18 pm

American Pharoah made history – and Winx never stopped winning.

With the decade coming at a close, we take a look at 10 horses who helped define the action on the track:

American Pharoah

Bob Baffert’s charge became an American icon after ending a 37-year wait for a Triple Crown winner when he swept the Classic board in 2015, returning to universal applause when winning the Belmont Stakes. The Pioneerof The Nile colt earned his own Sports Illustrated cover in the process and was actually voted sportsperson of the year in the magazine’s online poll. However, although he signed off with a glorious Breeders’ Cup Classic success, the editors opted to award the title to tennis superstar Serena Williams instead.

Big Buck’s

When Sam Thomas was dislodged from the saddle of Big Buck’s in the 2008 Hennessy, it is fair to say the history of the staying hurdle division was shifted forever. Big Buck’s entered the 2010s with one Stayers’ Hurdle triumph already under his belt, but he would go on to add three more during an 18-race unbeaten streak. He was not quite the same horse after returning from a 420-day injury absence, with his winning run halted in the 2014 Cleeve Hurdle, and he bowed out after finishing fifth at the Festival that year.

Enable

Enable may have had her 12-race winning streak ended in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but her owner Khalid Abdullah has already announced his intention to let her have a crack at an unprecedented hat-trick in 2020. Her 2018 Arc-Breeders’ Cup double broke new ground, and the mare looked as good ever in 2019 – with heavy ground proving her undoing at Longchamp. With 10 top-level wins already in the bag, Enable’s story is far from over.

Frankel

What more can be said about this true legend of the turf? Retired after a 14-race unbeaten career, Frankel is the highest-rated Flat horse ever after a series of demolition jobs in Group One races. His 11-length canter in the Queen Anne lives long in the memory, along with his seven-length stroll in the Juddmonte International. His mythology is further augmented by his trainer Sir Henry Cecil’s battle with cancer running parallel to Frankel’s exploits on the track.

Golden Horn

Arguably more a result for the jockey than the horse in this instance. Golden Horn’s 2015 Derby win really heralded the revival of Frankie Dettori’s career after a troubled couple of years. Teaming up with his old ally John Gosden, Dettori’s salute as he passed the Epsom winning post spoke volumes about what the win meant to the rider. Golden Horn went on to prove himself the best of his generation, winning the Arc, while Dettori has been on a thoroughly upward trajectory ever since.

Hurricane Fly

A 22-time Grade One winner, Hurricane Fly was the hurdling king between 2010 and 2013, with his only blip coming when suffering a shock defeat in defence of his title in the 2012 Champion Hurdle. Willie Mullins’ runner righted that wrong the following year to make him a dual hero in the Cheltenham showpiece. His record of top-level successes was eventually surpassed by Australian star Winx, but Hurricane Fly was a true giant of the National Hunt game.

Sprinter Sacre

Otherwise known as ‘the black aeroplane’, Sprinter Sacre raised the Cheltenham roof in 2016 when he completed a Lazarus-like return with victory in the Champion Chase. A 19-length winner of the race three years previously, Sprinter Sacre was stopped in his tracks by a heart problem – and when he eventually did make it back to the track after a year on the sidelines, he looked a shadow of his former self. Nicky Henderson and his team clearly worked some magic, though, because the old superstar was back in the 2015/16 season – with Cheltenham glory supplemented by a glorious Sandown swansong.

Tiger Roll

Trying to emulate the great Red Rum is no mean feat, but Tiger Roll did just that as he galloped to back-to-back wins in the Randox Health Grand National in April. Gordon Elliott’s runner edged out Pleasant Company by a head in 2018 and had nearly three lengths to spare over Magic Light last spring. Tiger Roll now stands on the verge of his own special place in history by winning three consecutive Nationals, but his participation at Aintree is far from certain – after surgery on a chipped joint and with owner Michael O’Leary expressing his own doubts about a hat-trick bid.

Treve

Another runner who seemingly defied the odds to return to her very best on the biggest stage. Treve carried an unbeaten record into her first Arc in 2013, but she had endured a disappointing campaign heading into her defence – beaten as an odds-on favourite in each of three starts and pulling muscles in her back at Ascot. Criquette Head-Maarek nursed the filly back to health, though, and she repaid those efforts in spades when becoming the seventh dual winner of the ParisLongchamp showpiece.

Winx

An Australian sensation, Winx bowed out with her 33rd consecutive win – and a record 25 Group One victories – in April. Chris Waller’s mare surpassed antipodean legend Kingston Town to win a fourth Cox Plate in 2018. Earning more than £14.5million in prize-money during her career, Winx’s unbeaten run stretched from May 2015 to April 2019 – and she was crowned the best horse in the world on multiple occasions.