Dodging Bullets (foaled 16 April 2008) is a British

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 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 ...

, best known for his performances in

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: ...

races. Bred by the leading jockey

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

he had a

flat racing 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 p ...

career of limited importance, winning two minor races from nine starts as a three-year-old in 2011. He showed better form when switched to

hurdles 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, ...

, winning the

Sharp Novices' Hurdle The Sharp Novices' 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 on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about ...

in 2012. He proved even better when he began to compete in steeplechases, winning the

November Novices' Chase The November Novices' Chase, currently known as the Paddy Power Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices' Chase, is a Grade 2 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in Gr ...

and the

Wayward Lad Novices' Chase The Wayward Lad Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,2 ...

in 2013. In the 2014/2015 National Hunt season he emerged as one of the best chasers in Britain, recording three consecutive Grade 1 wins in the

Tingle Creek Chase The Tingle Creek Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mil ...

Clarence House Chase The Clarence House Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 ...

and

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onli ...

Background

Dodging Bullets is a bay gelding with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in the United Kingdom by

. He was sired by

Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud. He was one of the only crop of foals sired by Dubai ...

a top-class son of

Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...

, whose wins included the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

and the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

. At stud, Dubawi has been a highly-successful breeding stallion, siring major flat winners such as Monterosso,

Al Kazeem Al Kazeem (foaled 15 April 2008) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2010 and became a consistently successful performer in the following year. In 2012 he won the Jockey Club Stakes on his seasonal debut bu ...

Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubawi. ...

Lucky Nine The Lucky Nine were an English rock band that features members of some other top British rock bands, for instance A, Hundred Reasons and (the now defunct) Cable and Sunna/earthtone9. Their collaboration has resulted in the record ''True Crow ...

and

Poet's Voice Poet's Voice (7 March 2007 – 17 March 2018) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed very good form as a two-year-old in 2009 when he won two races including the Champagne Stakes. He failed to live up to his promise in the fir ...

. Dodging Bullets' dam Nova Cyngi, was an unraced daughter of the

Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), an ...

winner

Northern Trick Northern Trick (foaled 1981) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from April to October 1984 she won four of her six races. She established herself as the best three-year-old f ...

, whose other descendants include

Main Sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

and

Light Shift Light Shift (22 March 2004 – 28 March 2014) was an American-bred, British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the 2007 Epsom Oaks. In a racing career which lasted from June 2006 to October 2007 the filly ran nine t ...

. In November 2009, the

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

Dodging Bullets was sent to the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...

sales and was bought for 8,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

by the Irish trainer Andrew Oliver. The horse entered the ownership of R A Pegum and was trained by Oliver at

Caledon, County Tyrone Caledon () is a small village and townland (of 232 acres) in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 10 km from Armagh. It lies in the southeast of Tyrone and near the borders of C ...

Racing career

2011: three-year-old season

Dodging Bullets began his racing career in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over one mile at

Cork Racecourse Cork Racecourse, also known as Cork Racecourse Mallow, is a horse racing venue at Mallow, County Cork, Ireland which stages both National Hunt racing and Flat racing. It is located 35 km north of Cork and 64 km from Limerick The cours ...

on 13 May when he finished seventh of the seventeen runners at odds of 50/1. He failed to win in his next six races, consisting of maiden races and minor handicaps in Ireland before winning a handicap race over eight and a half furlongs at

Galway Races The Galway Races (Irish: ''Rásaí na Gaillimhe'') is an Irish horse-racing festival that starts on the last Monday of July every year. Held at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway, Ireland over seven days, it is one of the longest of all the race m ...

on 27 July. On his final appearance on the flat, he won a ten furlong handicap at

Sligo Racecourse Sligo Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Sligo, Ireland which stages both National Hunt and flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven w ...

in August. At the end of the year, Dodging Bullets was sold and sent to England to be trained for a National Hunt career by Paul Nicholls.

2011/2012 National Hunt season: novice hurdles

On his first appearance over

he was immediately entered against good-class opposition when he contested the Grade 2

Dovecote Novices' Hurdle The Dovecote Novices' 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 Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (), ...

Kempton Park Racecourse Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross, London and on a border of Greater London. The site has of ...

on 25 February. 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 ...

he started at odds of 9/2 and finished second of the six runners, one and a half lengths behind the odds-on favourite Grumeti. In the following month, Dodging Bullets 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 started a 20/1 outsider for the

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 ...

in which he was ridden by

Daryl Jacob Daryl Jacob is an Irish National Hunt jockey who rode for trainer Paul Nicholls as second jockey to Ruby Walsh. When Walsh left the Nicholas yard Jacob took over as principal rider. He won at the Cheltenham festival for the first time in 2011 ...

. He finished fourth of the twenty runners behind

Countrywide Flame Countrywide is one of the UK's largest integrated property services group including residential property surveying, a collaboration of estate agents, and corporate services. It employs circa 8,500 personnel nationwide, working across 650+ estat ...

, Hisaabaat and Grumeti. On his third and final appearance of the season, he finished sixth behind Grumeti in the Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle after being badly hampered at the fifth hurdle.

2012/2013 National Hunt season: novice hurdles

As he had failed to win in his three races in the spring of 2012, Dodging Bullets remained eligible to compete in

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

hurdle races in the 2012/2013 National Hunt season. On his seasonal debut on 20 October, he recorded his first jump race win in a novice hurdle at Cheltenham, taking the lead approaching the last and going clear of his rivals to win by eight lengths at odds of 10/11. On 16 November the gelding was moved up in class for the Grade 2

at the same course and started 5/4 favourite against seven opponents. Ridden by Ruby Walsh, he led from the start and survived a mistake at the last flight of hurdles to win by one and a half lengths from River Maigue. The gelding was stepped up again in class and matched against more experienced hurdlers when he contested the Grade 1

Christmas Hurdle The Christmas 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 Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres ...

at Kempton on 26 December. He stayed on in the closing stages to finish third behind Darlan and Raya Star, and ahead of Countrywide Flame, Cinders and Ashes (winner of the

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme Novices' 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 distance of a ...

) and

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

. Dodging Bullets went to the Cheltenham for the festival again in March 2013 and started at odds of 12/1 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. After moving up to challenge the leaders three hurdles from the finish he weakened badly in the closing stages and finished ninth, fifty lengths behind the winner

Champagne Fever Champagne Fever (foaled 26 May 2007) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is noted for his front-running style and has won seven of his thirteen races. After beginning his racing career on the amateur po ...

. He was moved up in distance for the

Mersey Novices' Hurdle The Mersey Novices' Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree, Merseyside, over a distance of about 2 mil ...

over two and a half miles 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 ...

in April, but again ran poorly and came home last of the seven finishers behind Ubak.

2013/2014 National Hunt season: novice chases

In the 2013/2014 National Hunt season, Dodging Bullets competed in novice steeplechases. On his debut over the larger obstacles, he started 8/11 favourite for a minor event at Kempton on 20 October and won by four lengths after taking the lead at the tenth of the twelve fences. In the following month he was matched against Raya Star and the County Hurdle winner Ted Veale in the

at Cheltenham. Ridden by Jacob, he took the lead after the penultimate fence and won by five lengths from Raya Star with Ted Veale another three and a quarter lengths back in third. On 27 December he started 7/4 second favourite behind the odds-on Grandouet (whose wins included the

Champion Four Year Old Hurdle The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its run ...

and the

International Hurdle The International 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 on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 mi ...

) in the Grade 2

over two miles at Kempton. Dodging Bullets tracked Grandouet before taking the lead four fences from the finish and drew away to win by ten lengths. Dodging Bullets took on more experienced chasers in the Grade 2

Game Spirit Chase The Game Spirit Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong ( ...

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 February and finished second, beaten a neck by the seven-year-old favourite Module. On his third appearance at the Cheltenham Festival, Dodging Bullets started the 6/1 fourth choice in the betting (behind Champagne Fever, Trifolium and

Rock On Ruby Rock On Ruby, (foaled 11 May 2005) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist hurdler he is best known for his performances in the 2011–2012 National Hunt season, when he won the Gerry Feilden Hurdle at Newbur ...

) for the Grade 1

Arkle Challenge Trophy The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a dista ...

and finished fourth, beaten five lengths by the 33/1 outsider Western Warhorse. On his final appearance of the season, the gelding again ran poorly at Aintree, finishing last of five behind Uxizandre in the

Manifesto Novices' Chase The Manifesto Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree Racecourse, Ain ...

2014/2015 National Hunt season: steeplechases

On his first appearance of the 2014/2015 season Dodging Bullets finished third behind Uxizandre and Simply Ned in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham on 16 November. On 6 December, the gelding was moved up in class for the Grade 1

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

. He started at odds of 9/1 in a ten-runner field which also included Balder (

Maghull Novices' Chase The Maghull Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile 7 ...

), God's Own (

Ryanair Novice Chase The Barberstown Castle Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and dur ...

Haldon Gold Cup The Haldon Gold Cup is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Exeter over a distance of about 2 miles and 1½ furlong ...

Oscar Whisky Oscar Whisky (10 February 2005 – 6 December 2014) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. In his early career he showed promise, winning two National Hunt Flat races and two novice ...

and Somersby (

). 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 Nigel ...

he tracked the leaders before moving up to take second place at the ninth fence. He took the lead approaching the last fence and won by two and a half lengths from Somersby. Dodging Bullets' next race was the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

on 17 January in which he started 7/2 second favourite behind the nine-year-old

Sprinter Sacre Sprinter Sacre (foaled 23 April 2006), is a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse. He currently has the third highest ever Timeform steeplechase rating of 192p, behind only Arkle on 212 and Flyingbolt on 210 as their highest in ...

, who was returning after a long break caused by health problems. Ridden by

Noel Fehily Noel Fehily (born 24 December 1975) is a retired Irish professional horse racing jockey. Throughout his professional career, he has enjoyed substantial success including the King George VI Chase and Champion Hurdle, despite enduring significant inj ...

, he settled in third place as Somersby led before Sprinter Sacre moved up to lead at the second last. Dodging Bullets overtook Sprinter Sacre approaching the last and won by three lengths with the Irish challenger Twinlight (winner of the

Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase The Paddy's Reward Club Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland. It is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in December, over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (3,420 metres) and during the ra ...

) a further five lengths back in third. On 11 March 2015, Dodging Bullets contested the 56th running of the

. He started the 9/2 third choice in the betting behind Sprinter Sacre (winner of the race in 2013) and the 2014 winner

Sire de Grugy Sire de Grugy (foaled 21 June 2006) is a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He showed promise in his early career, winning the Dovecote Novices' Hurdle at Kempton Park Racecourse in 2011 ...

. The other contenders included Somersby, Simply Ned, the thirteen-year-old Irish veteran

Sizing Europe Sizing Europe (24 March 2002) is an Irish National Hunt horse, best known for winning the 2011 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. He won the Irish Champion Hurdle in 2008 before switching to chasing, where he has won six Grade 1s over f ...

, the Game Spirit Chase winner Mr Mole and the

Desert Orchid Chase The Desert Orchid Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during it ...

winner

Special Tiara Special Tiara (31 March 2007 – 2 February 2019) was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. He specialised in steeplechases over the minimum distance of two miles and was a confirmed front-run ...

. Sam Twiston-Davies positioned the gelding in second as Special Tiara led from the start and opened up a clear advantage. Dodging Bullets moved up to challenge at the third last and took the lead at the final fence. On the run-in he got the better of Special Tiara and held off the challenge of Somersby to win by one and a quarter lengths. Special Tiara was a length and three quarters back in third, seven lengths clear of Sire de Grugy.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Dodging Bullets'' 2008 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 4-m Cheltenham Festival winners