Big Buck's (foaled 16 April 2003) is a retired

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trained in Britain by Paul Nicholls. He is owned by businessman Andy Stewart and specialised in racing over hurdles. At the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, Big Buck's made history by winning his fourth consecutive

World Hurdle The Stayers' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain. It is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles ...

s, confirming his status as one of the greatest staying hurdlers in history. He was retired on 13 March 2014.

Racing career

2006–2007 season

Big Buck's raced thirteen times in France, recording two wins including the Grade II Prix Amadou at

Auteuil Hippodrome The Auteuil Hippodrome is a horse racing venue on Route des Lacs in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France. The 33-hectare (82-acre) race course opened November 1, 1873. It is designed exclusively for steeplechase racing. Modernized a number of tim ...

2007–2008 season

Big Buck's won the Mar-key Group Beginners' Chase beating the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

Barbers Shop. He then ran in the Bathwick Tyres Andover Novices' Chase and was just beaten by Moon Over Miami. He started the year with a win in the Mc Seafoods Novices' Chase ridden by

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

, winning by 2 lengths. He then finished 3rd in the Kingmaker Novices' Chase and went 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

Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase The Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase, known for sponsorship purposes as the Paddy's Reward Club Novices' Handicap Chase, is a Listed National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years ...

, where he finished 7th behind Finger On The Pulse. After the Festival he went to the Aintree to win the

Mildmay Novices' Chase The Mildmay Novices' Chase is a Grade One National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Mildmay course at Aintree over a distance of about 3 m ...

by 2 lengths, beating Battlecry.

2008–2009 season

While Ruby Walsh was injured, Sam Thomas rode Big Buck's in the

Hennessy Gold Cup /Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run ...

, where the horse blundered and unseated his jockey. Big Buck's returned to hurdles in 2009 at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

where he finished first, beating

Don't Push It Don't Push It is a Grand National-winning thoroughbred racehorse in England. Debut Don't Push It began his career on 5 December 2004 at Warwick in a National Hunt flat race, finishing third. 2005–06 season His first full season began at ...

. He went on to win the

Cleeve Hurdle The Cleeve Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles ( ...

, beating the odds-on favourite Punchestowns by four lengths. This was his prep race for the

on 12 March 2009. Kasbah Bliss was the odds on favourite to win, and Punchestowns was the 100-30 second favourite. Big Buck's and Punchestowns jumped the last hurdle together, but Big Bucks made a mistake. However, he won by 1 lengths, with Powerstation third and Kasbah Bliss a well-beaten fourth. Big Buck's went to Aintree for the Liverpool Hurdle and beat Mighty Man by 3 lengths, who won this race in 2006 & 2007.

2009–2010 season

In the 2009/2010 season, Big Buck's was unbeaten in four races. In autumn, he won the Long Distance Hurdle and the Long Walk Hurdle, both at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat r ...

. In spring, he won a second World Hurdle and again followed up in the Liverpool Hurdle.

2010–2011 season

In the 2010–2011 season, Big Buck's was again aimed at the Ladbrokes

. In every race prior to the World Hurdle, he won, not even coming off the bridle once. When it came to the big event itself, it was billed a straight head to head between Big Buck's and the fast-progressing Grands Crus. The slow pace set by Cross Kennon never suited Big Buck's, but they both travelled well throughout the race.

kicked Big Buck's into the lead two out with Grand Crus stalking and moving well. However, Big Buck's accelerated away to win a third consecutive World Hurdle by 1 lengths.

2011–2012 season

Big Buck's started the 2011/12 season by winning the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury by 5 lengths without ever coming off the bridle. In December, he ran at Ascot in the Long Walk hurdle and despite looking like he was in trouble at one stage when chasing the front-running Dynaste, he was quickly picked up by Ruby Walsh and swept past him for an 8-length win. Next up, Big Buck's ran at Cheltenham in January 2012 in the Cleeve Hurdle when his trainer Paul Nicholls and owner Andy Stewart decided it would be good to give the champion staying hurdler one final run before trying to win an unprecedented 4th win in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Big Buck's swept past Dynaste under Ruby Walsh's urgings for a 7 lengths success. This set up Big Buck's for a clash with Nicky Henderson's star hurdler Oscar Whisky and the popular Irish grey Thousand Stars at the Cheltenham Festival. Although his main market rivals didn't fire, C A Murphy's mare Voler La Vedette seemed to have him in trouble jumping the last. Despite this, Big Buck's won and became the first horse to win four successive staying hurdle titles at Cheltenham.

2012–2013 season

Big Buck's came back from a 233-day lay-off to record a facile victory in the 2012

Long Distance Hurdle The Long Distance Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 52 ...

at Newbury, recording his fourth straight win in the race. He conceded 8 pounds to the runner up, Reve De Sivola, and won by 9 lengths in a canter. Shortly after Big Buck's' 18th consecutive victory, he was found to have sustained a serious injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. Reve De Sivola won both that season's grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle and grade 2

before being defeated by 5 3/4 lengths into fourth in the same season's

2013–2014 season

After a break of more than a year, Big Buck's returned in the

at Cheltenham on 25 January. Ridden by

Sam Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies is a British National Hunt racing jockey. He was the retained jockey of ten-times British jump racing Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls. He won the 2015 Queen Mother Champion Chase on Dodging Bullets. His father is trainer Nig ...

, he sustained his first defeat in more than five years as he finished third behind 66/1 outsider Knockara Beau and At Fishers Cross. Big Buck's was retired on 13 March 2014 after finishing fifth behind More Of That,

Annie Power Annie Power (foaled 20 March 2008) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A National Hunt horse specialising in hurdle racing, she won fifteen of her seventeen races including the Johnstown Novice Hurdle, Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice H ...

, At Fishers Cross, and

Zarkandar Zarkandar (foaled 20 April 2007) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. A half-brother to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava he won one of his three Flat racing, flat races before ...

in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham Racecourse.

References

{{reflist

External links

Racing Post Profile

– ''Big Buck's'' 2003 racehorse births Cheltenham Festival winners Thoroughbred family 5-e National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom