Detroit City (5 April 2002 – 24 November 2007) was a

thoroughbred 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 ...

racehorse, most famous as a two mile

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He won five Class 1 races including the 2006

Triumph Hurdle The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 f ...

, he also had success on the

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

in the

Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

. The

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

died in November 2007, aged five, following a fall at Ascot. He was trained by

Jeremy Noseda Jeremy Noseda (born 17 September 1963) is a retired British racehorse trainer. After six years working for John Dunlop, and five years as assistant to John Gosden, he joined Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation in late 1993, and played a si ...

until his hurdling career began when

Philip Hobbs Philip Hobbs (born 26 July 1955) is a British racehorse trainer specializing mainly in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables near Minehead, Somerset. His biggest wins have come with Flagship Uberalles in the 2002 Queen Mother Champion Cha ...

took over. Six of his seven wins over hurdles came with

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

as jockey.

Racing career

Flat

Detroit City's racing career began in 2005 on all weather. He made his debut in January 2005, finishing ninth in a one-mile two

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

.Detroit City Race Record
RacingPost.com, Retrieved on 12 March 2009 A month later, he won a one mile four furlongs maiden at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

and followed this with two handicap wins over the same distance. In May, he returned to turf and finished fifth and sixth in his first two runs. He won a one mile six furlongs handicap at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in June and was then entered in Bahrain Trophy, where he finished second. After his first season of hurdling, he returned to the flat in October 2006 for the Cesarewitch. In a field of 31, he won by a length from Inchnadamph.

Hurdles

Detroit City made his hurdling debut in December 2005 in a juvenile novices hurdle at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. Following an eighth place in that race, he went on a succession of wins. He won two juveniles over two miles one furlong before travelling 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

. At odds of 7/2, he went into the race as favourite and the bookmakers were proved correct, he outstayed stablemate Fair Along to win by five lengths. He concluded the season with the

Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle The Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years. It is ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

, he won by eight lengths becoming the first horse since Pollardstown in 1979 to complete Triumph Hurdle/Aintree Hurdle double. After the Cesarewitch success, Detroit City switched back to hurdles again with a run at Cheltenham in the

Greatwood Handicap Hurdle The Greatwood Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Cour ...

. With no pacemakers, he set the pace himself and despite carrying top weight won by 14 lengths; the ''

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

'' described it as a "stunning performance". Following the race he was made favourite for the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

. He returned to Cheltenham a month later for the Boylesports.com International Hurdle and won, beating Hardy Eustace by a length. The success in a field of four failed to impress the ''Racing Post'', who said he still had "plenty to prove" to justify being favourite for the Champion Hurdle. Detroit's preparation run before the Champion Hurdle came in the Agfa Hurdle at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...

. He won, beating

Straw Bear A straw bear (German: ''Strohbär'', plural ''Strohbären'') is a traditional character that appears in carnival processions or as a separate seasonal custom in parts of Germany, mainly at Shrovetide but sometimes at Candlemas or Christmas Eve ...

by one and 3/4 lengths. He arrived at Cheltenham on the back of eight consecutive wins but was attempting to defy the poor record of five-year-olds in the Champion Hurdle, 71 horses of that age had tried since the last five-year-old winner, See You Then in 1985. He began the race as 6/4 favourite but struggled from the beginning, eventually finishing sixth of the ten runners. ''Racing Post'' noted it was a "huge disappointment". He ended the season with a run in the

Aintree Hurdle The Aintree Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (), ...

but finished tenth out of ten finishers. Over the summer of 2007, Detroit City had a wind operation; a back problem and stomach ulcers were also treated.Detroit City slicker after his summer break
Daily Telegraph, Retrieved on 12 March 2009 He began the 2007/08 season with the

Ascot Hurdle The Ascot 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 Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 3½ furlongs (2 mi ...

, moving up in trip to two miles and four furlongs. After he jumped the second fence, his back end collapsed. Jockey Richard Johnson held his head down as he thought the horse may have broken a leg on landing, but it was later revealed that a heart problem was the cause. Detroit City died on the track in the arms of Johnson.Loss of Detroit City overshadows Hardy Eustace's win
Times, Retrieved on 12 March 2009 Afterwards, Johnson paid tribute to the horse, calling him "probably the best hurdler I've ridden".

References

{{reflist 2002 racehorse births 2007 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Festival winners Thoroughbred family 1-e Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in Florida National Hunt racehorses