Ballinode (foaled 1916) was an Irish racehorse who won the 1925

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...

. She was the first mare and the first Irish-trained horse to win the race. She was known as "The

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Mare."

Background

Ballinode was a chestnut mare bred in Ireland. She was one of the few horses of any consequence sired by Machakos, a son of the

Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

winner Desmond. Ballinode's dam, Celia, was a half-sister to the

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

winner Love Wisely. During her racing career she was owned by Christopher Bentley and trained in Ireland by Frank Morgan. The mare was named after a village in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

where Bentley lived.

Racing career

In her early racing career Ballinode won several races in Ireland, acquiring a reputation for being fast but making occasional jumping errors. In March 1924 she was sent to the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

for the first time and finished second in the National Hunt Handicap Chase A month later she finished eighth in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

. In the following season she returned to Britain for the autumn meeting at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...

and won the

Grand Sefton Steeplechase The Grand Sefton Handicap Chase is a National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree Racecourse, Aint ...

, beating Ardeen into second place. She won again at

Nottingham Racecourse Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre. Characteristics There are actually ...

in February 1925. On 11 March 1925 she was one of four horses to contest the second running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and started the 3/1 second favourite. The other three runners were the odds-on favourite Alcazar, the 1924 runner-up Conjuror and the National Hunt Chase winner Patsey V. Ridden by Ted Leader the Irish mare settled in second place behind Alcazar and the pair soon drew well clear of the other two runners. Ballinode took the lead at the second last and won very easily by five

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. Eighteen days later the mare started 10/1 second favourite for the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

but failed to complete the course.

Assessment and honours

In their book, ''A Century of Champions'', based on the

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by ...

rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ballinode a "poor" Gold Cup winner. She is remembered in the name of Ballinode Close, a residential street in Cheltenham.

Pedigree

References

{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1916 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 11-e Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses