Roman Hackle (foaled 1933) was 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 who won the 1940

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 ( ...

. After winning several races over

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, ...

he was switched to steeplechasing in 1939 and made an immediate impact by winning the

Broadway Novices' 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 about ...

. In the following year he won the Gold Cup as a seven-year-old but did not build on his early promise. In two subsequent bids for the Gold Cup he ran poorly when favourite in 1941 and fell in 1942. His British career ended when

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: ...

racing in Britain was suspended in September 1942 but he went on to win races in Ireland.

Background

Roman Hackle was a "giant, raw-boned" bay gelding bred in the United Kingdom. His sire Yutoi was a high class stayer who won 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 ...

in 1921. Roman Hackle's dam Wanoya was a great-granddaughter of the Belgian-bred broodmare Muirninn, whose other descendants included leading

stallion My Prince and the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winner

Amberoid Amberoid (foaled 1963 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1966 American Classic, the Belmont Stakes. Amberoid was conditioned for racing by future Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin and ridden primaril ...

. During his racing career Roman Hackle was trained by Owen Anthony who had been a successful amateur jockey before taking up training: he had won the 1922

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 ...

with Music Hall and trained

Thrown In Thrown In (foaled 1916) was a British racehorse who won the 1927 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He won several other races but failed in two attempts at the Grand National. Background Thrown In was a chestnut gelding bred in England. He was the only horse ...

to win the Gold Cup in 1927.

Racing career

Roman Hackle showed great promise early in his racing career, winning several hurdle races and one

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

before being bought as a six-year-old before the 1939 Cheltenham Festival by the eccentric English heiress

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of the American Whitney family. She was a ...

. At Cheltenham he won the

, coming from an apparently impossible position at the last fence to defeat Up Sabre. The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led many leading owners to withdraw their horses from racing, but Dorothy Paget persisted, reportedly claiming that the sport was good for morale. Roman Hackle showed good form in the early part of the year and was strongly-fancied for the fifteenth running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup which was scheduled for 14 March 1940. The other leading contenders appeared to be Bel et Bon, Airgead Sios, Professor (favourite for the Grand National), Hobgoblin and Rightun. Snow fell on the eve of the race forcing a postponement of six days and several trainers used the delay to get another run into their horses. At

Wolverhampton Racecourse Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening. The track surface has been Tapeta since 2 ...

Professor defeated Airgead Sios but neither horse made the eventual Gold Cup field: Airgead Sios sustained an injury in the race whilst Professor's connections opted to reserve their horse for the National. Roman Hackle however, won easily under top weight at

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Desc ...

and started even money favourite for the rescheduled Gold Cup on 20 March. As part of the course had been ploughed up for wartime agricultural use the race was run over three miles, a quarter of a mile shorter than usual. Ridden by Evan Williams, the favourite was restrained in the early stages before taking the lead and never looked in any danger of defeat, winning easily by ten lengths from the outsider Black Hawk with the 1937 Grand National winner Royal Mail taking third at odds of 100/1. In his next start Roman Hackle finished third in the Lancashire Chase at

Manchester Racecourse Manchester Racecourse was a venue for horse racing located at a number of sites around the Manchester area including; Kersal Moor, New Barnes, Weaste and Castle Irwell, Pendleton, then in Lancashire. The final home of the course, Castle Irwel ...

. Roman Hackle showed inconsistent form in the early part of the 1940/41 National Hunt season but appeared to have returned to something like his best when winning at

Plumpton Racecourse Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884. Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase History Plumpton Racec ...

in early March. He was started favourite to repeat his 1940 victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but ran poorly and finished unplaced behind

Poet Prince Poet Prince (foaled 1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1941 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had earlier won the Stanley Chase at Aintree and went on to contest two more Gold Cups. He was unplaced when well-fancied in 1942 and finishe ...

. Roman Hackle returned for a third attempt at the Gold Cup in 1942 but fell in a race won by

Medoc II Medoc II (also known simply as Medoc, foaled 1934) was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1942 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1938, 1940 and 1941 before defeating a strong field in ...

. National Hunt racing was suspended in September 1942 and Roman Hackle was sent to race in Ireland. He recorded his last important success in 1945 when he won by a head at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

although on that occasion he was receiving more than forty pounds in weight from the runner-up

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

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 Roman Hackle a "poor" Gold Cup winner. Roman Hackle's name is commemorated in Roman Hackle Avenue, a residential street in Cheltenham.

Pedigree

*Roman Hackle was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4 × 4 to St Simon, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

External links

1940 Cheltenham Gold Cup newsreel

References

{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1933 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 8-c Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses Cheltenham Gold Cup winners