Memorable moments of 2023 including Auguste Rodin, Honeysuckle and Frankie Dettori on King Of Steel

Sweet success at Cheltenham

“Honeysuckle is responding to the calls of Rachael Blackmore!”, called Ian Bartlett on Racing TV.

It was ever thus.

The pair of them enjoyed a remarkable journey together throughout the mare’s prolific career over hurdles, winning 17 of 19 starts including 13 at the highest level, and it all came to an end with a typically tenacious performance from Kenny Alexander’s pride and joy in the 2023 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

This was a strong-looking renewal of the race, made up of horses with a combined 23 top-class victories to their name, but in the end Honeysuckle didn’t need to be at her very best after being ideally placed in second off a slow gallop set by Love Envoi, the eventual runner-up.

It mattered not. The Champion Hurdle heroine from 2021 and 2022 claimed a fourth Festival triumph in her swansong outing and emotions were running high in the aftermath as trainer Henry De Bromhead spoke so openly of the relationship this marvellous racehorse had enjoyed with his late son, Jack, who passed away in tragic circumstances the previous autumn.

“…she as much did it for him as she did for all of us,” he said under a rainbow-lit sky at Prestbury Park.

Some races simply will not be forgotten.

Equinox shines bright in spring

Between Cheltenham and Aintree there was a significant glimpse of what was to come on the Flat scene as Equinox captured the hearts and minds of European fans with a stunning performance in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan.

Westover, Zagrey and Mostahdaf – all Group 1 winners in the following months – were picked up and tossed aside like rag-dolls as Tetsuya Kimura’s phenomenal horse delivered on the promise he’d shown when winning the Tenno Sho and the Arima Kinen at the tail-end of his three-year-old campaign.

Three more top-level victories followed before being retired after a thrilling Japan Cup send-off, but it was the Sheema Classic that really resonated in this part of the world and it could be a very long time before we see a middle-distance turf horse quite like Equinox.

Russell and Rambler outfox the Irish

Only one British trainer has won the Grand National since 2015 and that trainer has done so on two separate occasions.

Step forward Kinross-based Lucinda Russell, who was back in the Aintree limelight in mid-April after Corach Rambler pulled off a remarkable double when following up his narrow verdict over Fastorslow in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham with a less narrow verdict over Vanillier in the famous marathon on Merseyside.

Derek Fox, who also partnered One For Arthur for the same stable six years earlier, enjoyed something of an armchair ride on the occasionally quirky son of Jeremy, despite protestors delaying the start by around 15 minutes.

Corach Rambler went off the well-backed 8/1 favourite which, in hindsight, looks a blindingly brilliant price given he was 10lb well-in after beating a subsequent dual Grade 1 winner at Cheltenham, and no doubt he’ll be back for another crack at the same race this spring off a much higher mark. Possibly via the Gold Cup which would be a short price to make it into 2024’s most memorable moments if he can get the better of Galopin Des Champs and co off level weights.

At my signal, unleash hell

Patrick Mullins recently commented that “it’s hard to go and beat Gordon (Elliott) in Navan...”. On a similar theme, I imagine going to Leopardstown and trying to beat Aidan (O’Brien) is akin to a quaking gladiator stepping foot into the colosseum and taking aim at the Emperor himself.

This year was different – or it was supposed to be anyway – as King Of Steel had positively screamed ‘get me to the Irish Champion!’ when not quite seeing it out in the King George; Nashwa brought rock-solid credentials to the table after backing up her Falmouth stroll with highly creditable placed efforts in the Nassau at Goodwood and the Juddmonte International at York; some loony analysts (cough-cough) even felt Alflaila was the rising star in this division after his pleasing comeback in the Sky Bet York Stakes.

Thumbs down from the Coolmore supremoes (or is it thumbs up for the kill?).

Sometimes you just have to sit back and applaud. In this instance, I recall laughing quite manically at my desk as the beautifully-orchestrated theatre played out before us.

The stalls opened and after a couple of hundred yards Luxembourg led from Point Lonsdale on the outside and the well-supported Auguste Rodin – by this point as frustrating as he had been scintillating following another complete blowout at Ascot – back in third on the inside under Ryan Moore.

Pass us if you can, the unmistakeable and oh so familiar message.

Hollie Doyle, Kevin Stott and Jim Crowley – all world-class riders in their own right – were made to look second-rate on the day as Ryan Moore picked it up on the Ballydoyle number one and booted his mount into the lead a furlong from the finish.

It was over in a flash, shortly followed by Stott’s contract with Amo Racing, but this story was all about O’Brien, his unparalleled training brilliance and belief in a horse that obviously posed a few problems along the way but returns to the track this season a five-time Group 1 winner after ending the year with another superb display in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

The never-ending decision we all loved to hate

It was suggested several weeks before the retirement U-turn was officially made public that Frankie Dettori appeared to be having a few second thoughts and it can’t have been easy for the ebullient Italian to put himself through such torment.

The heart no doubt knew all along he wasn't simply going to be put out to pasture at the end of the year - it just took a while to fully convince the head – and his consistent brilliance on the track made it painfully clear he still had an awful lot to offer.

Upping sticks to America is to be the next chapter of this absorbing tale, but Champions Day was billed as the last chance to catch Dettori riding in Britain and, for all that Chaldean, Emily Upjohn, Soul Sister, Courage Mon Ami, Inspiral and Mostahdaf contributed enormously to a surprisingly brilliant year for the jockey much earlier on in 2023, the final-day double on Trawlerman and King Of Steel surely topped the lot.

His reception after somehow hauling King Of Steel over the line in front in a pulsating finish to the QIPCO Champion Stakes wasn’t dissimilar to the kind of curtain-call typically reserved for an outstanding pantomime villain – there may have been good reason to boo and hiss at points, but my God we’ve enjoyed the show. Encore!

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org