Monty's Pass (23 April 1993 – November 2022) was the winner of the

2003 Grand National The 2003 Grand National (officially known as the Martell (cognac), Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 156th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase that took place at ...

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, when ridden by

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 Champ ...

, trained by Jimmy Mangan and running in the colours of the Dee Racing Syndicate, a group of owners based in

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor, County Down, Bangor. It is in the Civil paris ...

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, and led by

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

born

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owner Mike Futter. Monty's Pass was bred in 1993 by Montelimar in Ireland and began racing in point-to-points before turning to chasing, finishing fifth in the Mildmay of Fleet chase at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and second in the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences in 2002 before landing over £200,000 for his owners when winning the Kerry National. The horse was lightly raced over hurdles in preparation for the

in order to protect his handicap and was the subject of a huge gamble by the public on the day of the race, which saw his price tumble from 40/1 to 16/1 at the off. The horse won in what was considered by racing pundits to be one of the strongest Grand National fields of the previous two decades, landing a huge gamble of over £1 million for his owners in the process. His partner in victory, Barry Geraghty, later said of the race, "I couldn't believe how easily he did it, he jumped like a cat all the way, it was fantastic!" Trainer, Jimmy Mangan said, " That was unbelievable, he did everything right. He travelled well all the way and after he passed me with a round to go I said to myself he could win! The day was perfect and so was his performance and I have always dreamed of having a runner in the great race not to mind having the winner!" Monty's Pass finished fourth in the defence of his title in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and completed the course again in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

before being retired to his trainer's yard at

Conna Conna () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated on the River Bride, southeast of the town of Fermoy, on the R628 regional road. The village contains several pubs, a shop, a post office, a Roman Catholic church (built ) and a ne ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Monty's Pass died in November 2022, at the age of 29.

References

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External links

Racing Post Profile
1993 racehorse births 2022 racehorse deaths National Hunt racehorses Grand National winners Racehorses bred in Ireland Thoroughbred family 3-d