Wayward Lad (1975-2003) was a successful English

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 ...

National Hunt

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 ...

. He was one of the "Dickinson five" ( Michael Dickinson-trained horses that took the first five places at the 1983

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 horse's career ended in spring 1987 with a second success in the Whitbread Gold Label Chase at Aintree. By then he had won 28 of his 55 races on 16 different tracks. That final success, at the 1987

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 ...

meeting, brought his career earnings to £218,732, at the time a sum beaten only by

Dawn Run Dawn Run (1978–1986) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse (Deep Run - Twilight Slave) who was the most successful racemare in the history of National Hunt racing. She won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1984 and the Chelten ...

. His most prestigious wins came in the

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 ...

, which he won for a third time in 1985. A row between his owners resulted in the horse going to the Doncaster sales, where Tony Dickinson (Michael's father) bought him for 42,000 Guineas. He was then sent into retirement with his son, who had begun a new career training in the USA.

Races

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em * The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing - written by Bill Mooney and George Ennor
Wayward Lad's pedigree and racing stats
1975 racehorse births 2003 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom National Hunt racehorses Thoroughbred family 2-b