Pentire provided Michael Hills with perfect King George payback
‘He was tough, he loved his racing…He wasn’t very big, but he had a very big engine’.
Redemption. That was Michael Hills’ overriding emotion when Pentire won the 1996 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It is fair to say the diminutive Geoff Wragg-trained colt was a slow burner. In fact, his two-year-old season was nothing out of the ordinary – with third-place finishes in the Richmond Stakes and the Acomb, which at the time was not even a Pattern race, the pick of his form. As a result, he was not considered for the 1995 Derby. But that soon began to look like a mistake. On his return to action, Pentire won Sandown’s Classic Trial, beating none other than Singspiel, who would go on to win Group Ones all over the world. Next it was Chester, where he won the Dee Stakes, and then Goodwood for the Predominate. Both of those were won under a penalty.“I rode him when he won the Sandown Classic Trial, where he beat Singspiel,” said Hills. “He then went to Chester to win the Dee and Goodwood for the Predominate, so three Derby trials is very unusual. “Then he went to Royal Ascot and won the King Edward VII (beating Classic Cliche), was beaten in the King George, went to York and won the Great Voltigeur and then we won in Ireland in the Champion Stakes. You don’t get many seasons like that now. “He was tough, he loved his racing. He had foot problems at two, which is why he wasn’t able to show his best. When I started riding him in the spring, he was something else. He wasn’t very big, but he had a very big engine.” That sole defeat at Ascot came at the hands of Lammtarra, who retired unbeaten after four races, three of them being the Derby, the King George and the Arc. It remains one of the quirks of bloodstock how he in essence failed as a sire.
RIP to heroic 1996 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner PENTIRE who has died at the grand old age of 25. pic.twitter.com/tHQtiBMAjM
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) November 21, 2017
1996 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes – Pentire pic.twitter.com/qEgg1ciCsv
— History of Horse Racing (@horsevault) July 9, 2024
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