Not without good reason is horse racing
known as the “Sport of Kings” and, although racehorse ownership
is no longer the preserve of the upper echelons of society, buying
and keeping a thoroughbred can be eye-wateringly expensive. According
to the Racehorse Owners’ Association, it costs £20,000 a year, on
average, to keep a horse in training and owners can expect a typical
return on investment of just 20%. Of course, the old adage, “It
costs as much to train a bad horse as a good one”, so bear a
thought for the owners of horses that never win and, rarely, if ever,
trouble the judge.
One such horse – in fact, arguably
the worst horse in the history of British racing – was Quixall
Crossett, a bay gelding bred and trained by Ted Caine at Fangdale
Beck, North Yorkshire. The son of unheralded sire Beverley Boy made
his debut in a National Hunt Flat Race at Catterick in February,
1990, finishing tailed off last of 18 finishers. In 102 subsequent
starts over regulation hurdles and fences, he suffered 102 defeats,
finishing second just twice and third six times.
The closest he ever came to winning was
when, at the age of 13, he was second of four finishers, beaten 2
lengths, behind 2/9 favourite in a novices’ chase at Wetherby in
May, 1998, although even then he was “soon well outpaced”. He
did, however, become the first horse in the history of British racing
to record 100 successive defeats, when pulled up in a maiden chase at
Southwell in July, 2001.
In his final race, a novices’
handicap chase at Ayr in November, 2001, Quixall Crossett raced from
30lb out of the handicap, including 10lb overweight, and was tailed
off when trying to refuse and unseating his rider at the fifth last
fence. Variously dismissed as “thoroughly irresolute” and a
“seriously slow maiden in danger of becoming a folk hero” by the
racing press, Quixall Crossett earned just £8,502 in prize money in
a career that lasted for 11 years.
