The Fellow (1985–2008) was an

AQPS AQPS ("Autre Que Pur-Sang"), translated as "Other than Thoroughbred" (not "Other than Pure-Blood"), is a general term used in France to refer to horses not listed as Thoroughbreds but destined to race. Anglo-Arabians, Selle Français (or French ...

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: ...

racehorse in the early 1990s. He won the 1994

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 ( ...

and narrowly lost the 1991 and 1992 renewals. He also won the 1991 and 1992

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 ...

and the 1991

Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 6,000 metres, and during its running there are twe ...

. Along with

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, he is one of only two horses to win both the latter race and the Gold Cup. A full brother to French Horse of the Century

Al Capone II Al Capone II (20 March 1988 – 21 October 2020) was a French Autre Que Pur-Sang (AQPS), translated as ''Other than Thoroughbred'') steeplechaser. Sired by the Selle Français jumper Italic, and out of the Thoroughbred mare L'Oranaise, he is a ...

, The Fellow was trained in France by

François Doumen François Doumen (born 11 June 1940) is a retired French racehorse trainer. From 1956 to 1970 he was an amateur jockey, and he then worked as an assistant trainer to his father Jean. As a young man he had also been a competitive slalom skier. He ...

, ridden by the Polish jockey

Adam Kondrat Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

, and owned by the Marquise Soledad de Moratalla. The Fellow first came to prominence in Britain when he ran in the 1990

as a young five-year-old, although the previous month he had won the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Prix La Haye Jousselin The Prix La Haye Jousselin is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 5,500 metres (about 3 miles and 3½ furlongs), and it is scheduled ...

Auteuil Hippodrome The Auteuil Hippodrome is a horse racing venue on Route des Lacs in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France. The 33-hectare (82-acre) race course opened November 1, 1873. It is designed exclusively for steeplechase racing. Modernized a number of tim ...

in France. He finished third in the King George behind

Desert Orchid Desert Orchid (11 April 1979 – 13 November 2006), known as ''Dessie'', was an English racehorse. The gray (horse), grey achieved a revered and esteemed status within National Hunt racing, where he was much loved by supporters for his fron ...

and Toby Tobias, then ran in a French hurdle race before returning to the UK to run 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 ( ...

. He was still a young horse and went off at 28/1. However, despite his age he was only beaten a short-head into second place by

Garrison Savannah The Garrison Savannah in the country of Barbados, is a horse racing venue located within the Garrison Historic Area, just outside the capital-city Bridgetown. A clockwise grass course, the Garrison Savannah is known internationally for the annual ...

and defeated a number of good horses including

Cool Ground Cool Ground is a former National Hunt racehorse. He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1992, as well as the Kim Muir in 1989, the Anthony Mildmay, Peter Cazalet Memorial Chase in 1990 and 1991, the Welsh National in 1990, and the Greenalls Gold ...

and Celtic Shot. In fact, BBC commentator Sir

Peter O'Sullevan Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing commen ...

(possibly biased through being a friend of the horse's owner) thought that The Fellow was going to just get up to win the race. During the summer of 1991, The Fellow won the

as well as two other chases. He returned to the UK for another tilt at the

. In a close finish, he just beat

Docklands Express Dockland or Docklands are areas occupied by, or in the neighbourhood of maritime docks, sometimes described as a Sailortown (dockland). The term is more common in Britain and British Commonwealth. Specifically the term may refer to: * Aarhus Doc ...

and

Remittance Man In British history, a remittance man was an emigrant, often from Britain to a British colony, supported by regular payments from home on the expectation that he stay away. In this sense, remittance means the opposite of what it does now, i.e. mo ...

, with

falling when beaten in his last race before retirement. The Fellow then tried again to win 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 ( ...

the following spring. In this race, he lost again by a short head, this time to

with Docklands Express in third. The next season, he won two further races at Auteuil before running in the

Hennessy Gold Cup /Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run ...

, where he was a good third under top-weight behind

Sibton Abbey Sibton Abbey, an early Cistercian abbey located near Yoxford, Suffolk, was founded about 1150 by William de Chesney, High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. A sister house of Warden Abbey, near Bedford, Bedfordshire, Sibton Abbey was the only Cis ...

and

Jodami Jodami (6 April 1985 – 1 December 2008) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran thirty-nine time and won eighteen races in a career which lasted from March 1990 until February 1997. A ...

. He then retained his

crown. Although he won the race by 6 lengths, he was outpaced entering the home straight and didn't look like the winner at the second last. He went straight to Cheltenham to try to finally win the Gold Cup. He went off the short-priced 5/4 favourite. However, he was well-beaten back in fourth behind

. His jockey,

, was heavily criticised by members of the racing press who felt he had kept the horse too far off the pace. Especially scathing in his criticism was

John McCririck John Michael McCririck (17 April 1940 – 5 July 2019) was an English horse racing pundit, television personality and journalist. McCririck began his career at '' The Sporting Life'', where he twice won at the British Press Awards for his camp ...

. The Fellow then was sent off the 7/2 favourite for the

Whitbread Gold Cup Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...

but finished fifth. The following season, The Fellow's best performances in his first six races of the season were four thirds. He failed to retain the King George, finishing third behind

Barton Bank Barton Bank (1986-2007) was one of the top National Hunt chasers of the mid 1990s. He won the 1993 King George VI Chase as well as two Charlie Hall Chases at Wetherby (1993 and 1995). Background He was trained by David Nicholson and in his ...

and

Bradbury Star Bradbury may refer to: People *Bradbury (surname) *Baron Bradbury, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, including three barons with the surname Bradbury. Places * Bradbury, County Durham, England *Bradbury, California, city of the United ...

, and then came third in 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 ...

behind Antonin. However, in that race he had stayed on well at the end of the race and was giving substantial amounts of weight away to all of his rivals bar

, where it was only 5 pounds.

, one of the favourites for 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 ( ...

, was injured shortly before the race, which improved The Fellow's chances of winning. He went off 7/1 third favourite. Jodami's mistake at the last fence ended any chance of him stopping The Fellow, who won by a length and a half.

Peter Scudamore Peter Scudamore MBE (born 29 June 1958), often known as 'Scu', is a former jockey and trainer in National Hunt racing. He was an eight-time Champion Jockey (including one title shared with John Francome), riding 1,678 winning horses in his ca ...

said about the ride the horse was given: ''" ...and beautifully ridden by Adam Kondrat, who understandably was very hurt by the illinformed, illjudged comments about his previous Gold Cup defeats."'' The Sporting Life National Hunt Review 1993/94 The weights for the

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 ...

are decided well in advance of the Gold Cup. This left The Fellow with 11 stone and 4 pounds to carry. However, the National is a race where the higher weights have a dire record. Additionally, torrential rain made the ground heavy. The Fellow tired after

Becher's Brook Becher's Brook ( ) is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fence, as well as on four other occasions du ...

on the second circuit where he went down on his nose, he made another mistake at the next (Foinavon), before falling heavily at the

Canal Turn The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds ...

(fence 24) when fourth - his form going into the Grand National read; 5-33331. The Fellow won a race at Auteuil Hippodrome in the summer of 1994 but was well beaten in other races. This included a final effort at the King George VI Chase, where he was pulled up behind

Algan Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) is a semiconductor material. It is any alloy of aluminium nitride and gallium nitride. The bandgap of AlxGa1−xN can be tailored from 3.4eV (xAl=0) to 6.2eV (xAl=1). AlGaN is used to manufacture light-emitting d ...

. Ironically, that horse had the same trainer and owner as The Fellow. His last race was at Auteuil on 18 June 1995, where he was pulled up. Racing colours - Red, light green cap.

Cheltenham Gold Cup record

•1991 - Second to

- 6yo, 28-1. •1992 - Second to

- 7yo, 7-2. •1993 - Fourth to

- 8yo, 5-4F. •1994 - First - 9yo, 7-1.

King George VI Chase record

•1990 - Third to

- 5yo, 10-1. •1991 - First - 6yo, 10-1. •1992 - First - 7yo, EvensF. •1993 - Third to

- 8yo, 7-2F. •1994 - PU before three out - 9yo, 7-2.

References

racingpost.co.uk
- ''The Fellow's race record''

- ''The Fellow dies aged 23'' {{DEFAULTSORT:The Fellow 1985 racehorse births 2008 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners Racehorses trained in France French steeplechase racehorses National Hunt racehorses Non-Thoroughbred racehorses