Flyingbolt, the forgotten champion

Flyingbolt is a name that not too many people in the betting shops or the Betfair forums have heard of. His name didn’t appear in the Racing Posts book of the 100 greatest horses of all time. He has no statue, bar, restaurant or race named after him at Cheltenham despite being a three time festival winner and the only reference left to remember him on the racecourse is the Flyingbolt Novice Chase which is run at Navan.

Flyingbolt had a bit of a temperament issue to go along with his immense talent. Pat Taaffe, the man with the job of riding both horses at the racecourse, described the difference between Flyingbolt and Arkle as “Like night and day”. “A small child could walk into Arkles box in absolute safety. No child, no man would willingly walk into Flyingbolts, at least not twice. He’d kick the eye out of your head” said Taaffe in his autobiography. Paddy Woods who was a work rider at Tom Dreapers stable and who regularly rode both horses in work has said simply “I didn't like him. He was nasty enough, he'd bite you. It was just his temperament, like a fella who wouldn't mind injuring you and think nothing about it."
Maybe it was this vicious streak that has caused him to be forgotten by racing fans because one thing is for sure, his exploits on the track have never been matched by any horse with the exception of Arkle in the history of the sport.

Flyingbolt started his career at Leopardstown over 1 mile 4 furlongs on May 13th 1963 where he finished down the field at 20/1. That was the only time he would be beaten for 2 and a half years. On October 9th 1963 he re-appeared at Navan winning the bumper by 7 lengths. At that same meeting the Donoughmore Plate was won by Arkle. After another easy victory on the flat at Leopardstown Tom Dreaper switched Flyingbolts attentions to hurdles with immediate success. He won his maiden at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting in a canter, then followed with an equally impressive victory in the Killester Hurdle at Baldoyle before heading back to Leopardstown to win the important Scalp Hurdle. He finished off the season by winning the first division of the Gloucestershire Hurdle (now called the Supreme Novices Hurdle).

The 1964/65 season saw Flyingbolt run on five occasions. He won all five contests including the Cotswold Chase (now known ironically as the Arkle) and his final race of the season at Fairyhouse where he carried 12st 2lb and gave the second horse 37lb.

1965/66 saw Flyingbolt at his most brilliant best. He started off the season at the Phoenix Park in Dublin in a handicap hurdle one early October afternoon. This was only a pipe opener for the season ahead and he finished fourth conceding 28lbs and upwards to his rivals. When the real work started it was sensational. His first chase that season was at Gowran Park in the Careys Cottage Handicap Chase. He won by 5 lengths and gave the 2nd horse 32lb. A trip to Ascot was next on the agenda for the Black and White Gold Cup and he sauntered to a 15 length victory.

In December 1965 Tom Dreaper sent the white faced chestnut to Cheltenham for the Massey Ferguson Gold Cup (now known as the Boylesports). He was set to give 10 rivals 25lbs and upwards and went to post carrying the welter burden of 12st 6lb. He opened up at 5/1 but was backed into 5/2 favourite. The price probably should have been more like 1/5 favourite. Sent to the front 3 fences from home he drew right away and won by 15 lengths in very heavy ground. The horses that filled the places were Solbina and Scottish Memories. Flyingbolt had beaten Scottish Memories 16 and a half lengths and given him 26lbs. In the same race the previous season Arkle had finished 2 lengths ahead of the same horse while giving him 33lb while at Leopardstown in Arkles next race the deficit was reduced to 1 length but gave 35lb. When pounds and lengths are taken into consideration it’s clear just how good Flyingbolt was.

December turned into January and he was sent to Gowran Park for the Thyestes Chase. He won the race by a distance from the mare Height O’Fashion giving her 28lb. 25 lengths behind her was a horse called Flying Wild who was receiving 32lb. While receiving 32lb Flying Wild had beaten Arkle by a length in the previous seasons Massey Ferguson at Cheltenham.

Flyingbolts finest hour on the racecourse came at Cheltenham in March. On the Tuesday he ran in the 2mile Champion Chase and won by an effortless 15 lengths at odds of 1/5. The comment in the form book of this race simply said “took lead 2 out, canter”. 24 hours later he lined up for the Champion Hurdle. Pat Taaffe kept him to the outside all the way round and he made a serious error at the 4th last. Instead of kicking on and letting his stamina come into play, Taaffe waited until after the home turn before letting him loose. He was up against specialist 2 mile hurdlers and he was done for speed after the last flight. He finish 3 and 3 quarter lengths 3rd behind Salmon Spray and Sempervivum. Had he had more use made of him it is quite possible that he would have won that day. A phrase often used in sport is that you will never see anything like that again. It is often over used but if Flyingbolt had won the Champion Hurdle that day, only 24 hours after winning the Champion Chase, it is safe to say that indeed it is something that we will never see again.

Fairyhouse saw an extraordinary performance by Flyingbolt in his next and final race that season. Carrying 12st 7lb in the Irish Grand National over 3 and a quarter miles he beat Height O’Fashion 2 lengths giving the mare 40lbs. Arkle beat the same mare in the same race 2 years earlier by 1 and a quarter lengths carrying 12st and giving her 30lb. In his autobiography Pat Taaffe wrote the following:
"Flyingbolt won the 1966 Irish National very easily from Arkle's old rival Height O'Fashion. He settled down beautifully and I was surprised how well he stayed. If top weight worried him, it never showed. He made winning look an easy thing that day. Once again I was reminded that I was alternating between the king and crown prince of chasing. More than ever, it now seemed only a matter of time before he took over from Arkle."

During the summer of 1966 there was plenty of talk about who would win if the two stable stars were to meet on the racecourse. Talk in the pubs and on the racecourses was infectious and every race fan in Ireland and England could talk of little else. Who would win between Arkle and Flyingbolt? It was never to happen. After the two horses nearly tried to kill each other in a schooling session on Tom Dreapers gallops the trainer decided never to let them take each other on again, although at the time, the public were unaware of this. Pat Taaffe meanwhile was convinced that if the two horse had met, Arkle would beat him for speed at the end of the race. It was all speculation and no one was to know that by the end of the year both horses would be gone.

October 29th 1966 saw Flyingbolt head back to Cheltenham for his opening run of the season in the National Hunt Centenary Chase. Carrying 12st 7lb and giving 21lb and upwards to his 4 rivals he started at 2/7. He cantered throughout the race until weakening suddenly 2 out and finishing 3rd. Something was clearly wrong and after plenty of tests it was discovered that he had contracted Brucellosis which is a long lasting infectious disease associated with cattle. It is thought that he picked it up while out grazing that summer. Prolonged medical treatment and rest was the only course of action. The match that many had hoped for had to be put on ice. Less than 2 months later at Kempton Park, Arkle was beaten by Dormant in the King George. The racing world was in shock as it transpired that Arkle had fractured a pedal bone in his hoof during the race. The greatest of them all would never race again. The match that many had hoped for would now never take place. Within a couple of months, National Hunt racing had lost it’s 2 leading lights.

Flyingbolt returned to action a year later but was only a shadow of the horse he once was. Brucellosis had extinguished the flame that had burned inside him. He finished 3rd at Punchestown under 12st 7lb before finishing a well beaten 7th in the Mackeson Gold Cup at Cheltenham. Tom Dreaper wanted the horse to be retired rather than watch him deteriorate through no fault of his own. His owner didn’t agree and after another year on the sidelines he reappeared under the care of Ken Oliver. He ran twice, winning a minor race under 12st 7lb before facing another year on the sidelines. He returned again and ran for 2 more seasons and had his final race in the Topham Trophy at Aintree on April 1st 1971 where he fell for the only time in his career.

It is terribly sad for racing that such a brilliant horse was allowed to run when he had deteriorated so much and it is also tragic for racing that a horse so brilliant could be forgotten so easily by race fans. It is ironic that in the present day, the leading light of the moment, the Paul Nicholls trained Kauto Star is being compared to Arkle now that he has won a fourth King George. Kauto Star is a wonderful horse and it is right that we laud him. He is an absolute treasure, but has he completed any feats that have matched what you have just read in this blog? Was Flyingbolt the best racehorse that ever jumped a fence? Maybe he was. Arkle was rated 212 and Flyingbolt 210. When he was struck down by Brucellosis he was only 7 years old. Up to the time of his setback he had won 17 of 20 starts and was unbeaten in all his 11 starts over fences. He won over all distances from 2 miles to 3 and a quarter and regularly carried 12st 7lb in his races. Having won the Gloucestershire Hurdle, Cotswold Chase and Champion Chase he remains the only horse in the history of the festival to have won 3 different races at the meeting.

Given all these feats it is extraordinary that he is the forgotten horse of the racing world. In February Navan racecourse will stage the only race run anywhere bearing his name. It is a sad fact that in the current debate over the relative merits of two truly great racehorses in Arkle and Kauto Star the one who could have been the greatest of all doesn’t even get a mention.
Flyingbolt, the big chestnut with the white face and the temperament of a demon deserves better.

Flyingbolt died in 1983 aged 24.