Desert Orchid Passes Away

Bluetonic

Anyone want to share any memories of Desert Orchid?

DESERT ORCHID, one of the greatest and most popular steeplechasers of all time, has died aged 27.

The galloping grey dominated jump racing during his ten-year career, the pinnacle of which was undoubtedly his victory in the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Appalling weather almost ledto the gelding’s withdrawal on the morning of the race. Thankfully trainer David Elsworth persuaded owner Richard Burridge to let Desert Orchid take his chance, and his unforgettable, narrow, hard-fought win over Yahoo was recently voted the greatest race of all time by readers of the Racing Post. That was his most memorable performance. His best run officially came in the 1990 Racing Post Chase at Kempton. Despite giving at least two stone to all his opponents, Desert Orchid, under Richard Dunwoody, ran away with the race to beat Delius by an awesome eight lengths. He was given an official rating of 185 following that performance, 15lb clear of his nearest rival, stablemate Barnbrook Again.

Kempton was very much Dessie’s ‘home-tie’, and he recorded six of his 34 victories there. Four of them, of course, came in the King George VI Chase.

wb

I was very sad to hear about his death. While I was not old enough to have been backing him, he was one of my fathers all time favourites, and I remember watching him as a kid. At least he had a good long life.

The jock

Same here, I was only about 5 or 6 when good old dessie was in his prime but he was the first horse that i liked to watch for some reason.Was it his grace or the fact that he was nearly all white or that he was such a battler,i dont know but he was the horse that made be first have an interest in horse racing.He was also my fathers favourite horse of whom hewas lucky enough to see in the flesh at fairyhouse winning the Irish Grand National in 1990.Desert Orchid will never be forgotten.

Bluetonic

Dessie's ashes to be
buried at Kempton

DESERT ORCHID’S ashes will be buried next to the statue of the great grey in the parade ring at his beloved Kempton next month, following a request by his trainer David Elsworth and his owner Richard Burridge.

A spokesman for Kempton said: “A ceremony will take place on the second day of our Christmas Festival - December 27. We thought it would be appropriate to do it then, so it coincides with the first running of the Desert Orchid Chase.”

Plans to bury Best Mate at Exeter racecourse just outside the rails at the spot where he collapsed in last year’s Haldon Gold Cup, had to be abandoned after it was discovered that changes to European legislation and the Fallen Stock Act, brought in following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001, forbid connections from carrying out their wish. His ashes were eventually laid at Cheltenham.

Having died in October 1995 at the age of thirty, connections of Red Rum were able to bury the triple Grand National winner at the finishing post at Aintree.

Charles Barnett, managing director of Aintree, said: “It was OK to do itthen, but things have tightened up since then.”

http://www.racingpost.co.uk/news/master.sd?psection=racingpost.co.uk&page=News&category=Desert%20Orchid