Sporting Life
Sea Pigeon (left) gets up to win the 1979 Ebor
Sea Pigeon (left) gets up to win the 1979 Ebor

Let's talk about... Sea Pigeon - send in your favourite memories of a racing legend

By Sporting Life
Horse Racing
Fri April 17, 2020 · 5y ago

Mike Cattermole and Mike Vince share their memories of Sea Pigeon - now we want yours of a remarkable racehorse.

What are your memories of Sea Pigeon? Share them with us via racingfeedback@sportinglife.com

Mike Cattermole - What a horse!

But why did I love him so much? His versatility was one reason – he was a brilliant hurdler and top-class Flat horse, too. That is unusual.

Peter Easterby, when once asked what made him special, replied simply “ability.”

Yes, that turn of foot – devastating and another reason to love him. That was his chief weapon but it had to be deployed at the right time – as late as possible. Going too soon was not the best for the Pigeon.

Jonjo, the only jockey to win on him over jumps and on the Flat – famously in the 1979 Ebor of course when he rode with a broken foot! - knew full well that he had gone too soon earlier that year in the Champion Hurdle.

He had taken it up approaching the final flight and allowed Monksfield to fight back and outstay him. A year later, he got it absolutely right, leaving it until after the last, much to the delight of this then sixth form student who had skipped off home to watch the race.

Sea Pigeon’s toughness and durability were more reasons for the love affair. He was retired at the age of 12 (just as he was about to try and attempt a hat-trick of Champion Hurdles) a full nine years since he ran seventh in the 1973 Derby.

Lester Piggott had won on him on his debut at two at Ascot when he was trained by Jeremy Tree for Jock Whitney, a one-time US ambassador to Britain, who bred him at Greentree Stud in Lexington.

Yes, he was bred to be pretty good, being a son of the mighty Sea Bird out of Around the Roses, a Grade 1-placed mare. By the way, Sea Pigeon’s half-brother, Bowl Game, was champion turf horse in the States in the late 1970s. Two brothers making headlines on either side of the Atlantic, at the same time.

I also liked the fact that, in his later, golden years Sea Pigeon carried the tartan colours of Pat Muldoon. Being a half-Scot, that resonated with me.

Sea Pigeon ran 45 times on the Flat and won 16, including three Vaux Gold Tankards, two Chester Cups and that Ebor. Sadly, he never won a Group race but it didn’t seem to matter. His weight-carrying performances were more heroic.

He ran 40 times over jumps winning 21, including two Champion Hurdles, two Scottish Champion Hurdles and one Welsh Champion Hurdle.

In retirement, an elderly Sea Pigeon would lead the parade for the Ebor. I used to get quite emotional up there in the York commentary box.

Sea Pigeon - Champion Hurdle Memories - Racing TV

Mike Vince - The agonising wait

There was something strange about the York Ebor Festival of 1979- in hindsight it was one of the most memorable, especially for those lucky enough to be there.

‘I was there’ was an essential part of the story- as a strike by technicians meant ITV coverage was scrapped- there was no Racing TV or SIS in those days!

Those that recall the agonising wait for the verdict after Alpha Delphini nosed out Mabs Cross in the Coolmore Nunthorpe two years ago had something to compare it with.

Sea Pigeon carried 10 stone in the 1979 Ebor, and was the outsider of three runners in the race for Peter Easterby. The weight meant Jonjo O’Neill could ride. Hopes had dimmed with the rain that fell the day before.

Sea Pigeon didn’t know that. He was famously a ‘hold up’ horse and he cruised up and took the lead in the final strides- only to idle in front. Donegal Prince under Philip Robinson had one last try- and they flashed past the post in unison.

The technology of 1979 was basic - a photo finish meant a negative and then a print, sometimes taking so long that Senior Judge Michael Hancock was christened ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ for the length it took for some verdicts to be announced.

O’Neill returned to the unsaddling area with Easterby’s travelling Head Groom, who met him, accusing the jockey of getting beat. Off came the saddle and away went the rider.

Then the announcment: ‘Here is the result of the photograph...'

No one heard the other numbers being confirmed as the place erupted. In what’s still a record weight carrying performance the Pigeon had won.

There’s no film of the race. It allegedly got mislaid. The search party should start at Jackdaws Castle!

Sea Pigeon (left) wins the 1979 Ebor

Send us your views

Send your favourite Sea Pigeon memories and other contributions to racingfeedback@sportinglife.com and if you’ve any ideas for more topics you want covering over the coming days and weeks please let us know.

Feedback from readers

Andrew Pelis: Sea Pigeon, just the name conjures memories of colossal battles with his hurdling arch rivals, Monksfield, Birds Nest and Night Nurse.

People recall the Seventies as a golden era for hurdling and that rings true. We still look back at those times with awe. Pigeon was mixing with multiple Champion Hurdle winners and the enigmatic Birds Nest, who won many races which have since been upgraded to Grade One level. It was an exceptional time.

It is easy to forget just how famous these horses were.

At that time, there were three terrestrial television stations … and that was all the nation had to tune into. On a Saturday afternoon, two of those channels were dedicated to sport, with Grandstand and World Of Sport competing and both showing live racing for the early part of the afternoon.

So millions were tuning in and were familiar with the great names.

Every weekend a big race and a big name would be on show somewhere - and in the case of Sea Pigeon, his following was all the greater, for not only did he stick around for all those years, but he was with us throughout all four seasons of the year.

Whenever he or Night Nurse ran, it was presented to the public as a really big deal. It caught the imagination of the public and I am sure captivated plenty of future racing fans, still in their school shorts.

We should never lose sight of the miles he had amassed - and the sheer racing wars he had contested, long before he won his first Champion Hurdle, at the ripe old age of 10. This wasn't a horse who had been wrapped in cotton wool and raced sparingly. His great exploits on the flat were already legendary, his two near misses in the Champion Hurdle. His failed trip to North America. His Derby run too of course.

His attitude never waned. His class got him home in that extraordinary 1981 Champion Hurdle. By that time his old rivals Monksfield and Night Nurse had moved on, but Pigeon took on and defeated the young pretenders, among them a future triple Champion Chase winner in Badsworth Boy.

I remember when he retired, just feeling there was this great void to be filled.

Much like Red Rum, Pigeon won the public's hearts and it was brilliant that he lived to a long age, greeting his adoring public on big race days. He deserved that and the adulation for him never ebbed.

Johnny Richardson: Sea pigeon pulling clear of monksfield after the agony of the two previous years remains for me the greatest thrill that I've ever experienced not just in racing but any sport There was something magical and graceful about him the way he moved through his races Almost every race comment always said smooth headway 2f out or 2out in hurdle races Of course he dident always win due to either heavy ground or as in most cases he was trying to concede 2st all round but he always delivered that swagger Nowadays let it be champion hurdle contenders or excellent flat horses they run 2 or 3 times a year but sea pigeon was running 6 or 7 times a year in both codes sometimes attempting the impossible like failing by a neck to give 2st to le moss on the flat and carrying 12st 5lb in competitive hurdle races,which would be both unheard of and unattemted by any horse in the modern era I've always hoped another horse might come along and capture my imagination like sea pigeon did,and whilst there have been horses that we I really liked over the years I'm afraid for me sea pigeon will forever be THE ONE!! Any one who witnessed that golden era of the late 70s will continue to look up you tube and take that time machine to relieve the golden age of hurdle racing and enjoy the greats of yesteryear, for anyone who has not ever seen it look it up and watch the horse with the red sleeves in tartan colours make majestic smooth headway in ALL of the championship races before finally pulling clear of monksfield at last in only a fashion that was the sea pigeon way I want to thank everyone concerned with horse for giving us memories that will last forever.

Darren Ashworth: Only fourth in the 1977 Champion Hurdle , a race that would be remembered as featuring 3 dual winners of the race , he sprinted to victory in 1981 at the incredulous age of 11 from horses half his age. There will never be any dual purpose horse to come close to emulating his record. I am glad I am old enough to recall this golden era of hurdling.

Colin Burnside: Back in the late 70s early 80s Sea Pigeon was my favourite horse. My best memory of Sea Pigeon was the 1981 Champion hurdle,I was a coal miner at the time arriving home from the pit at 3.25 just in time to dash into the public call box and put £2 on it with our bookie in another village After placing the bet I ran up home as fast as I could to watch John Francome give it a brilliant ride, happy days best horse ever.

Dave Parker - Great article about a great horse and what a fantastic video about the Easterbys and obviously Sea Pigeon. I was 22 when Sea Pigeon won in 1981 and I happened to be at Cheltenham one of the coolest rides ever by John Francome the crowd went absolutely mad. Everybody seemed to make their way to the winners' enclosure to cheer Sea Pigeon and John Francome into the winners place. Fantastic horse , fantastic training feat when you think Sea Pigeon was a Derby horse !!!! And to win his second champion hurdle at 12 years old is some training feat on its own. Will we ever see it again if you listen to most pundits maybe not .But I am a great believer never underestimate the older horses and I probably believe in that due to obviously Sea Pigeon and Red Rum who won his third national when he was 12 !!!!

Dave Youngman - By far my greatest memory of SEA PIGEON was being at York to watch and cheer him home under Jonjo when he won the Ebor Handicap, how well Peter Easterby trained him and advertised his training expertise, happy memories indeed of that day in 1979. Our Limekiln gallops opened here at Newmarket yesterday and Godolphin had horses out there on them working away nicely, all we need now is the Swallows to return and racing to be back.

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