A familiar name will be missing from our list of runners as the new season gets under way with the retirement of our evergreen marvel REGAL ENCORE at the age of fifteen.
He has been a wonderful flagship for the yard since easily winning his bumper on his racecourse debut as a four year old at Southwell in February 2012, ridden by my wife Rachael.
We bought him as a store, at the Doncaster spring sale as a three year old, broke him in, and soon realised we had a smart prospect, before selling him to JP McManus shortly after he won at Southwell.
He was then successful in a bumper for JP at Chepstow ridden by AP McCoy before finishing runner up in the championship bumper at the Cheltenham Festival.
In the decade since then he has given us all no end of fun and was a standing dish at Ascot, winning four valuable handicap chases and finishing placed at the track seven more times. He won nine times and at his peak had a handicap mark over fences of 154 over fences.
Regal Encore has been looked after with love and affection by Rachael throughout his time with us and has been given to her by JP in retirement. She describes him as a proper gentleman and a complete professional in everything he does.
He has earned almost £400,000 in prize money, is more an institution than a racehorse at Potwell and our children Harry and Hattie adore making a fuss of him. He’s set a record number of times any one horse has ran at Ascot – 18 runs including 4 wins and placed 7 times.
Whenever Regal Encore ran it was always a family day out with the children keen to be there because you knew there was a decent chance he would be involved in the finish.
He gave us everything, still retains all his enthusiasm at the age of 15 and it’s such a shame that he didn’t have the right ground conditions to add to his remarkable record in what turned out to be his last season.
What a great tribute from Anthony with so much love and affection from the whole family. Wishing a great retirement to this legend with fun with the children and Rachel.