Golden Miller (1927–1957) was a

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 ...

who is the most successful

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 ( ...

horse ever, winning the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936. He also is the only

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

to win both of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's premier

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 ...

races - the Cheltenham Gold Cup and 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 ...

- in the same year (1934).

Breeding

He was bred at the yard of Laurence Geraghty, grandfather of jockey

Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival. Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champio ...

, in Pelletstown, Co. Meath, Ireland in 1927. He was sired by the unraced Goldcourt, who stood at a stud fee of five guineas and sired two

Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...

winners. His dam, Miller's Pride, was an ex-hunter who was placed and the dam of the good steeplechaser May Crescent. Her sire, Wavelet's Pride, won the Great Metropolitan Stakes, a hurdle race, and other races before he became a top jumper sire.Churchill, Peter, ''The Sporting Horse - The history, the riders & the rules of popular equestrian sport'', Arco Publishing Company, Inc, London, 1976,

Racing record

Golden Miller was trained by Basil Briscoe in

Longstowe Longstowe is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small rural village of nearly 200 residents in South Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, England, west of Cambridge. The population was measured at 205 at the 2011 Census. It is situat ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

and owned by

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 ...

, who was the

British flat racing Champion Owner The Champion Owner of flat racing in Great Britain is the owner whose horses have won the most prize money during a season. The list below shows the Champion Owner for each year since 1894. Prior to 2015 the period for deciding the championship sta ...

in 1943, and the leading National Hunt owner in 1933-34, 1940–41 and 1951-52. In 1931, Golden Miller made his steeplechasing debut at

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 ...

where he finished first, only to be disqualified for carrying incorrect weight. On 30 December, he won the Reading Chase before winning the Sefton Steeplechase on 20 January 1932. In 1933, as a six-year-old and winner of two Cheltenham Gold Cups, he started as the 9/1 favourite in the Grand National but fell 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 ...

. In the 1934 Grand National win, he set a new course record of 9 min 20.4s for

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

. This victory was the middle of five consecutive Gold Cup victories, a Gold Cup record. He retired in 1939 with a record of 29 wins from 52 races. He is buried at Elsenham Stud, a working farm in

Elsenham Elsenham is a village and civil parish in north-west Essex in eastern England. Its neighbouring towns include Bishop's Stortford, Saffron Walden and Stansted Mountfitchet. History Elsenham is recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086 as ''Alsen ...

, West

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Honours

Fred Varney, a bricklayer, bought a ticket in the Irish sweepstakes and drew Golden Miller. A

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

bought a half share in Fred's ticket for £3,000. When Golden Miller won, he won the top prize of £30,000. He had to give the bookmakers £15,000, which left Fred with £18,000. With the winnings, Fred and his son-in-law founded a coach company and named it Golden Miller Coaches after the horse. After many years, the company was bought and renamed

Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...

. Many of the firm's coaches have a portrait of the horse on the front or side of the vehicle. A statue of Golden Miller was erected near the parade ring at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Its most prestigious meeting is the Cheltenham Festival, held in March, which features several Grade I races including the Chel ...

. The racehorse weather vane on top of Hucknall Library, in Nottinghamshire, commemorates Golden Miller: the library was funded by Edward Shipley Ellis and William Paget, two of the partners in the Hucknall Colliery Company.

Pedigree

*Golden Miller 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 Sterling, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

An Observer Classic: 25 March 1934

Golden Miller at the United Kingdom's National Horseracing Museum
{{Cheltenham Gold Cup winners 1927 racehorse births 1957 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Cheltenham Festival winners Thoroughbred family 16-b Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in Ireland National Hunt racehorses Grand National winners

Breeding

Racing record

Honours

Pedigree

See also

References