Legendary Steeplechaser

 

A profile of one of the best steeplechasers the world has ever seen

Name: Sprinter Sacre Sire: Network

Record: 18-3-1 Dam: Fatima III

Earnings: £1,136.884 Dam’s Sire: Bayolidaan

Trainer: Nicky Henderson Breeder: Christophe Masle

Owner: Mrs Caroline Mould

Introduction

Trained by Nicky Henderson and owned by Mrs. Caroline Mould, Sprinter Sacre was one of the greatest steeplechasers the racing world has ever seen.

With a Timeform high rating of 192, it puts him above the likes of Kauto Star and leaves him as 3rd highest ever on the list, surpassed only by Arkle and Flyingbolt.

Foaled in April 2006 in France, Sprinter Sacre was un-raced there before making the move to Nicky Henderson in 2009. He made his racecourse debut in February 2010, winning a bumper at Ascot by a nose to King Of The Night, and that was the start of his very successful career.

Piloted mostly by Barry Geraghty during his prime, but also Nico de Boinville at the end of his career, he outclassed multiple Grade 1 winners, including the likes of Cue Card, Somersby, Finnian’s Rainbow, and Un De Sceaux.

They retired Sprinter Sacre in 2016 following a leg tendon injury. He had won 18 of his 24 races, accumulating an incredible £1,136,884 in earnings.

Pedigree

Sprinter Sacre was born from a lightly raced flat horse called Network. Network ran in Germany in the early 2000s and was a Group 2 winner as a 3-year-old.

He became something of a high-class sire too, siring the likes of Rubi Ball, a multiple Grade 1 winner in France with over £1.5 million in earnings who also ran 2 respectable races for Willie Mullins before retirement; Delta Work, a multiple Grade 1 winner for Gordon Elliott in Ireland; and, of course, Sprinter Sacre.

He had something of a knack for siring high-quality NH horses.

Sprinter Sacre’s Dam was a horse called Fatima III. There is very little information on her as a racehorse, and she was only the dam to 4 horses, one of which was Sprinter Sacre.

Her other offspring include Flinteur Sacre, a 2m horse currently in training with Nicky Henderson, Regain Du Charbonneau, a poor NH horse trained by David Pipe around 2009-2010, and Hermes Sacre, a horse currently in training in France with E Leenders. This horse has only achieved 2 runs so far.