The Fellow
The Fellow | |
---|---|
Bay | |
Breeder | J Cypres & L Couetil |
Owner | Marquesa Soledad de Moratalla |
Trainer | François Doumen |
Record | 37: 10-4-11 |
Earnings | £641,426 |
Major wins | |
Prix La Haye Jousselin (1990) Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris (1991) King George VI Chase (1991, 1992) Cheltenham Gold Cup (1994) | |
Honours | |
French Horse Racing Hall of Fame | |
Last updated on August 29, 2008 |
The Fellow (1985–2008) was an
The Fellow first came to prominence in Britain when he ran in the 1990 King George VI Chase as a young five-year-old, although the previous month he had won the Group One Prix La Haye Jousselin at Auteuil Hippodrome in France. He finished third in the King George behind Desert Orchid and Toby Tobias, then ran in a French hurdle race before returning to the UK to run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was still a young horse and went off at 28/1. However, despite his age he was only beaten a short-head into second place by Garrison Savannah and defeated a number of good horses including Desert Orchid, Cool Ground and Celtic Shot. In fact, BBC commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan (possibly biased through being a friend of the horse's owner) thought that The Fellow was going to just get up to win the race.
During the summer of 1991, The Fellow won the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris as well as two other chases. He returned to the UK for another tilt at the King George VI Chase. In a close finish, he just beat Docklands Express and Remittance Man, with Desert Orchid falling when beaten in his last race before retirement. The Fellow then tried again to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following spring. In this race, he lost again by a short head, this time to Cool Ground with Docklands Express in third.
The next season, he won two further races at Auteuil before running in the
The following season, The Fellow's best performances in his first six races of the season were four thirds. He failed to retain the King George, finishing third behind
The Fellow won a race at Auteuil Hippodrome in the summer of 1994 but was well beaten in other races. This included a final effort at the King George VI Chase, where he was pulled up behind Algan. Ironically, that horse had the same trainer and owner as The Fellow. His last race was at Auteuil on 18 June 1995, where he was pulled up.
Racing colours - Red, light green cap.
Cheltenham Gold Cup record
•1991 - Second to Garrison Savannah - 6yo, 28-1.
•1992 - Second to Cool Ground - 7yo, 7-2.
•1993 - Fourth to Jodami - 8yo, 5-4F.
•1994 - First - 9yo, 7-1.
King George VI Chase record
•1990 - Third to Desert Orchid - 5yo, 10-1.
•1991 - First - 6yo, 10-1.
•1992 - First - 7yo, EvensF.
•1993 - Third to Barton Bank - 8yo, 7-2F.
•1994 - PU before three out - 9yo, 7-2.
References
- ^ The Sporting Life National Hunt Review 1993/94
- racingpost.co.uk - The Fellow's race record
- independent.co.uk[dead link] - The Fellow dies aged 23