See More Business (26 April 1990 – 24 July 2014) was a top-class

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: ...

chaser in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He won the 1999

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 ( ...

as well as the 1997 and 1999

King George VI Chase The King George VI 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 Kempton Park over a distance of ...

Background

See More Business was a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Ian Bryant. Born at Winnal Common in Herefordshire, he was trained by Paul Nicholls at Ditcheat in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He was ridden in to his biggest victories by

Mick Fitzgerald Michael Fitzgerald (born 10 May 1970) is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey and current television racing pundit. Fitzgerald rode for the majority of his career in Great Britain and less often Ireland. Career as a Jockey Mick Fitzgerald's ca ...

and

Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton is a retired National Hunt jockey. Early life He was born on 28 October 1972 in Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He is not related to another English jockey, Robert Thornton. Riding career He ro ...

Racing career

Early career

See More Business ran in 3 point-to-points winning two and falling on his final start before making his debut under rules. He made his hurdling debut on 4 November 1995 at Chepstow with a win and followed with two further wins including the Grade 2 Winter Novices' Hurdle He reappeared nearly a year later as a novice chaser. He started by winning the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices' Chase and then was second in a Grade 1 chase and then a Grade 2 chase to

Dorans Pride Dorans Pride (27 May 1989 – 13 March 2003) was an Irish thoroughbred racehorse. Racing career Dorans Pride joined Michael Hourigan's yard in 1992 and was sold by the trainer to Tom Doran in February 1993, who gave the then nicknamed Pad ...

. He was a strongly fancied second favourite at 5/2 for the

Racing Post Chase The Coral Trophy is a Grade 3 Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles (), an ...

. However, he suffered a heavy fall on the second circuit.

1997/98 season

See More Business returned the next season with a win in the Rehearsal Chase at Chepstow and then ran in the

. The joint favourities One Man and Suny Bay disappointed and coming to the last fence he was challenged by

Challenger du Luc Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

. He then went on to win the Pillar Chase at Cheltenham ahead of

Cyborgo Cyborgo (1990 – March 2001) was a French-bred, British-trained AQPS racehorse. A full-brother to Hors La Loi III he began his racing career in his native country before being transferred to England to compete in National Hunt racing. In ...

. He went into the

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 ( ...

as the second favourite behind old rival

. However, disaster struck as Cyborgo's jockey

Tony McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a reco ...

felt his horse had suffered an injury and urgently tried to pull him up before the next fence. See More Business was running slightly wide of the field and when McCoy pulled Cyborgo out he gave See More Business nowhere to go and took him out of the race.

1998/99 season

See More Business' first run of the new season was in the Edward Hanmer Chase but he could only finish fourth. He then retained the Rehearsal Chase in a 3-runner field. He went into the

as the favourite but fared badly and was pulled up as

Teeton Mill Teeton Mill (19 May 1989 – November 2014) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. He originally competed in hunter chases, which are confined to horses who have taken part in fox hunting, and won five ...

won. He ran again in the Pillar Chase but could only finish third of five behind new star Cyfor Malta and Go Ballistic. He was now the forgotten horse of the 1999 Gold Cup. His chances were made easier by Cyfor Malta suffering an injury and being unable to run and

suffering a career-ending injury early in the race and having to be pulled up. Towards the final three fences there were only four horses with a chance of winning. Double Thriller faded and then so did favourite

Florida Pearl Florida Pearl (1992-2012) was an Irish-bred race horse who raced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was owned by Mrs Violet O'Leary and trained by Willie Mullins. His major race successes included the Champion Bumper, Royal & SunAlliance Cha ...

. The scene was set for a thrilling finish between See More Business and 66/1 outsider Go Ballistic. See More Business just prevailed by 1 length.

1999/2000 season

The following season See More Business went into the

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 ( ...

in fantastic form. He'd won the

Charlie Hall Chase The Charlie Hall Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Wetherby over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 45 y ...

and defeated Go Ballistic by 17 lengths in winning the

for a second time. This was the last time the race was officially first-scheduled for Monday December 27; Christmas Sunday still being observed in the UK. Finally, he won the Aon Chase by 18 lengths. He went into the Gold Cup as the 9/4 favourite. However, no horse since L'Escargot had retained the crown and that had been nearly 30 years earlier. In the end he could only come fourth behind

Looks Like Trouble Looks Like Trouble (foaled 7 May 1992) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse trained by Noel Chance. A specialised Steeplechaser, he raced between February 1997 and June 2003 and won eight of his eighteen races. In 2000, h ...

and Strong Promise. However, he ended his season with a 21 lengths win in the Martell Cup Chase.

2000/01 season

See More Business' first port of call the next season was the

where he defeated three rivals by 30 lengths. He then went into the

as the hot favourite with

injured. However, he had a dire race and finished a well-beaten fifth. He then won another Pillar Chase before running another disappointing race this time in the Martell Cup Chase (the Cheltenham Festival having been abandoned).

2001/02 season

The next year it looked like time would be called on See More Business' impressive career. He fell in the Rehearsal Chase and was pulled up in the

Welsh National The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about ...

. He bounced back with a convincing win in the Jim Ford but it was a weak field. Still he lined up in that year's

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 ( ...

. To the racing public's delight he ran a wonderful race. He was unable to hold off

Best Mate Best Mate (28 January 1995 – 1 November 2005) was an Irish-bred, English-trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was considered one of the most loved horses in the history of horse racing in the UK, with hi ...

and

Commanche Court Commanche Court (14 April 1993 – 26 May 2009) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse owned by financier Dermot Desmond and trained in Ireland by Ted Walsh. The son of Commanche Run gave his trainer his one and only Cheltenham Festival winne ...

but his third place showed him back towards his best. Sadly, he couldn't repeat the trick at Aintree and was well-beaten in the Martell Cup Chase.

Later career

See More Business' four races the following season were a mixed bag. He was defeated by More Than A Stroll in Down Royal, won another Rehearsal Chase and Jim Ford before coming well down the field in the

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 ( ...

. See More Business' last race was on 6 December 2003 when he ran in another Rehearsal Chase. He was behind on this occasion and went on to a well-deserved retirement.

Pedigree

References

{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1990 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 15-a