Blaklion (born 3 April 2009) is a British

thoroughbred racehorse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

trained by Dan Skelton. He is best known for winning the Grade 1 2016

RSA Chase The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of abou ...

at 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 ...

Career

Blaklion was bred in Britain but started his racing career in Ireland at Loughanmore. He was trained by Colin McKeever and competed in four races, winning at Tinahely before moving to

Nigel Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies (born 16 May 1957, Crickhowell) is a British racehorse trainer specialising in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables at Naunton, Gloucestershire. He began training in 1981 and sent out his first winner, Last of the Fo ...

yard in England. He followed this with a win on first outing at

Ffos Las Ffos Las is a rural area between the villages of Carway and Trimsaran, north of the town of Llanelli in the River Gwendraeth, Gwendraeth Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The Ffos Las area is named after a farm which had existed at the site befor ...

. Of his first six races in Britain, he won five. Including the Grade 2 Persian War Novices Hurdle at

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...

. He would try to win the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival, but was pulled up despite winning two preliminary races at Cheltenham and Doncaster. For 2016, Blaklion switched to Chase fences and picked up his first win at Cheltenham in December. Following this up with another win at Wetherby, and ultimately his biggest career win to date at the Cheltenham Festival winning the RSA Chase. He would cap the season with third place in the Mildmay Novices Chase at Aintree on Grand National Weekend. Blaklion wouldn't win again until December 2017, taking the

Becher Chase The Becher Chase is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (3 ...

on the Grand National course. By this time, Blaklion was being prepared for a National tilt and wind surgery in February 2018 saw him line up at 14/1 for the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in April. He was brought down at the first fence. Early in 2019, Blaklion was sold for £300,000 to Darren Yates. He would initially switch training to Philip Kirby, and later to Dan Skelton without a run in between. Following a 623-day break from racing, Blaklion would finish 11 of 14 at Ascot in October 2020. In 2021, he would once again attempt to win the Grand National this time finishing sixth having gone to post at 50/1. Blaklion would go on to win two races in 2021 at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

. Blaklion returned to Aintree for the 2022 Grand National, finishing 14th.

References

{{reflist Cheltenham Festival winners 2009 racehorse births British racehorses