Good morning all,
Over the last two weeks I have taken a trip down memory lane with two of my all-time favourite National Hunt horses Sea Pigeon & Dawn Run.
This week I am turning my attention to the flat. Inside this week’s piece you can find my thoughts on one of my favourite horses of the 1980’s.
El Gran Senor
During the 1980’s I was privileged watch some great race horses in action. The likes of Chief Singer, Darshaan, Rainbow Quest, Sadler's Wells, Pebbles, Shahrastani, Triptych and Dancing Brave all come to mind. However, there is one that really stands out and it was El Gran Senor.
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El Gran Senor, a son of legendary American stallion Northern Dancer was born at Windfields Stud in Maryland US in 1981. The stud’s owner was E.P. Taylor who in partnership with Vincent O’Brien, John Magnier and Robert Sangster sent the old colt over to Ireland to be trained by Vincent O’Brien at Ballydoyle.
Unbeaten as 2-year-old
Racing in the distinctive green and blue colours of Robert Sangster. El Gran Senor was unbeaten on his four starts as a 2-year-old winning the Railway Stakes and the National Stakes in Ireland before coming over to end his 2-year-old season with a win in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.
On the Classic Trail
His Dewhurst win meant the colt went into the winter break favourite for both the 2,000 Guineas and Derby.
El Gran Senor ran out an easy winner of the Gladness Stakes on his first start of a 3-year-old and headed to Newmarket a firm favourite for the first colts Classic.
The race itself turned out to be a really good 2000 Guineas with El Gran Senor beating subsequent Group 1 winners – Chief Singer (wide margin winner of the St James Palace next start and brilliant winner of the 6f July Cup) Lear Fan (Prix Jacques le Marois winner) and Rainbow Quest (future Arc winner).
You can watch his 2000 Guineas success here.
The 1984 Epsom Derby
The Derby was always going to be the colt’s target after his smooth win in the 2000 Guineas. Despite some stamina doubts about the Derby distance, trainer Vincent O’Brien felt the horse would stay and said at the time that El Gran Senor was possibly be the best horse he had ever trained. Not surprising then that the colt was sent off the odds-on favourite for the 1984 Derby.
Much of the pace was made by a future Melbourne Cup winner in At Talaq, who turned into the straight some five lengths clear.
Two furlongs from the finish, El Gran Senor moved up to dispute the lead with another Irish trained runner Secreto moving up to challenge on the outside. Pat Eddery appeared to be going very easily on the favourite. Where as Secreto’s jockey Christy Roche was hard at work on his colt. O'Brien had instructed Eddery to hold on to El Gran Senor for as long as possible in order to utilise his brilliant turn of foot, just as he had told Lester Piggott before Nijinsky’s Derby win.
The two Irish-trained colts began to pull away and in what Timeform described as a “thrilling” finish, Secreto led in the last strides to win by a short head.
Did He stay?
After the race Eddery said ”I have never been travelling so well on any horse. I thought I had a stone in hand over Secreto. If anything, I got there too soon. They say he didn’t stay. He was beaten four inches; had he won by four inches; he would have stayed”.
For me he did stay the 1m 4f. Otherwise why would O’Brien have sent him to the Irish Derby, instead of heading to 1m 2f Eclipse at Sandown? At the Curragh El Gran Senor proved his stamina for the trip with an impressive success from Rainbow Quest.
O’Brien always maintained Eddery had unbalanced the colt at Epsom when he had looked around for dangers two furlongs out, and the horse was never able to regain an even stride on the Epsom camber.
Compare his finish at the Epsom with the Curragh and you can see that it was a combination of the track and jockey error that beat him at Epsom.
We never got to see El Gran Senor again on the racetrack after his Irish Derby win, as he picked up a foot injury and was retired to stud back in America. His stud career ended in 2000 and he died of old age in 2006.
El Gran Señor was one of the best flat horses I’ve seen. And but for injury would surely have turned out to be an all-time great.
Until next time.
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Brilliant brilliant horse and Vincent was a lucky man to get so many amazing champions in his yard.
I remember being at Goodwood when Chief Singer won (The Sussex Stakes, I think) and I had a big bet on him
after watching the horse go down to the start and had said to my friend at the time, ‘that is the best looking horse that I have ever seen’. El Gran Senor had treated him with disdain in the Guineas and was a truly brilliant champion….what memories!