Kicking King retires from horse racing

On November 26, 2008 by

Last week it was announced that Kicking King has been retired after persistent injury problems. Kicking King is currently ten years of age but was plagued by a tendon injury, which kept the Irish chaser out of the racing scene for over 750 days.

Although he managed to make some sort of comeback from this injury, he was sadly unable to recover to full fitness and it was decided that the chaser should be retired. Kicking King failed to show the form he was previously famous for during his following four races and it may have been cruel to prolong the career of the horse, who has had a truly distinguished career.

Kicking King won on his debut in racing, with a victory at Leopardstown. He was also victorious in the Cheltenham Gold Cup back in 2005 and overall, he managed to win twelve out of the twenty-eight races he competed in.

The horse’s owner, Conor Clarkson, revealed his disappointment at the fact that Kicking King will race no more but also spoke of his pride at the horse’s magnificent career. Clarkson believes that the horse was a

Zarkava named Horse of the Year

On November 18, 2008 by

The unbeaten filly, Zarkava, has been handed the accolade of Horse of the Year at the Cartier Racing Awards. In winning the award, she managed to beat Raven’s Pass (who won the Breeders’ Cup), New Approach, Duke of Marmalade (who managed to win the older horse award), and Henrythenavigator.

Zarkava, who is three years of age, won all the races she started this year and also two races as a juvenile. The recipients of the awards were chosen by readers of the Daily Telegraph and the Racing Post, as well as by racing journalists. The points won in certain important races were also taken into account when the individuals made the decisions.

Zarkava, who was victorious in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, has been described by her owner, the Aga Khan, as a

Viewed victorious in Melbourne Cup

On November 5, 2008 by

The Melbourne Cup has been won by Viewed, who was ridden by Blake Shinn at Flemington. A tight finish saw Viewed up against Luca Cumani’s Bauer and C’est La Guerre, who is being trained by John Sadler. Bauer eventually finished just behind Viewed, whilst C’est La Guerre claimed third place.

Master O’Reilly finished behind C’est La Guerre, Dermot Weld’s Profound Beauty finished fifth and British-trained Mad Rush, who started as favourite to triumph in the event, could only manage to finish in seventh place.

The exciting finish looked unlikely for the majority of the race. Blake Shinn gradually guided Viewed to the front just two furlongs from the end and victory looked certain. However, Corey Brown managed to guide Bauer through on the outside and the race ended in a dramatic photo-finish.

Blake Shinn was modest at the end of the race and stated that he was not entirely happy with his overall performance. Shinn revealed that he reached the front "way too early