Henry VIII Novices' Chase

The Henry VIII Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 steeplechase run over 1 mile, 7 furlongs and 119 yards – that is, slightly shorter than two miles, but permissible since National Hunt racecourses were remeasured in 2015 – at Sandown Park in early December. As the name suggests, the race is restricted to horses aged five years and upwards who, at the start of the current season, are yet to win a race over regulation fences and are therefore classified as 'novices' over the larger obstacles.

The historic town of Esher, Surrey, which has been the home of Sandown Park since 1875, was a Royal hunting lodge during the reign of Henry VIII (1509 – 1547); the race is run in memory of 'Old Coppernose' himself. The Henry VIII Novices' Chase was inaugurated, as a Grade 2 contest, in 1987 but, having achieved sky-high standing, was eventually upgraded to Grade 1 status in 2011.

Reigning champion trainer Paul Nicholls is the leading trainer in the history of the Henry Novices' Chase with seven wins, courtesy of Dines (1998), Thisthatandtother (2003), Marodima (2007), Al Ferof (2011), Hinterland (2013), Vibrato Valtat (2014) and Dynamite Dollars (2018). Speaking at his owners' day in September, 2022, Paul Nicholls said, 'We're really strong with our novice chasers...', which include Gelino Bello, Monmiral, McFabulous, Complete Unknown and Stage Star, so further success in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase is by no means out of the question.

Arguably the best horse to win the race, though, was the prolific Altior, trained by Nicky Henderson. The High Chaparral gelding sprinted clear to win by 6 lengths on just his second start over fences and went on the win the Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Queen Mother Champion Chase twice at the next three Cheltenham Festivals, achieving a Timeform Annual Rating of 180 in the process.

Mick Channon

Former Southampton and England striker Mick Channon, who once described himself as 'a bit of a maverick as a trainer', turned his full attention to his erstwhile hobby, horse racing, after his retirement from professional football in 1986. Foresaking football management for racehorse training on the grounds that, 'Horses don't answer back', Channon worked as assistant trainer to John Baker and Ken Cunningham-Brown before taking out a training licence in his own right in 1990.

Channon initially set up on his own in Lambourn, Berkshire with a string of ten horses, but nonetheless saddled 16 winners in his inaugural season. Thereafter, he steadily increased the quantity and quality of his string and, by 1994, had saddled his first Group race winners, including his first Group 1 winner, Piccolo, who was awarded the Nunthorpe Stakes at York on the disqualification of Blue Siren.

It would be another five years until Channon saddled his next Group 1 winner, Seazun, in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket. However, by that stage of his career, having outgrown his original base, he had moved to the historic West Isley Stables, near Newbury and was well on his way to becoming one of the leading trainers in the country. Channon enjoyed his most successful season in 2003, with 144 winners and over £2 million in prize money. Now 72, Channon still harbours the ambition to own or breed a Derby winner, although he said, 'The game’s not just about winning; it’s about the pleasure you get out of being involved in it.'

Buster Edwards

Named Ronald 'Buster' Edwards, who served nine years in prison for his part in the Great Train Robbery in 1963, the equine Buster Edwards sprung one of the biggest surprises in recent history when winning at Haydock on December 30, 2019. Trained by David Pipe and ridden by Jack Tudor, the 6-year-old was sent off 7/2 favourite for the Bryn Gates Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, run over an extended three miles on soft going. However, Buster Edwards had to be ridden along from just after halfway and Tudor was hard at work for most of the final circuit.

Two less-than-fluent jumps at the final two obstacles appeared to have sealed his fate and, at one point, he traded at the maximum 999.00 on Betfair and was matched for £289 at that price. Nevertheless, having jumped the final flight in a seemingly impossible seventh position, eight lengths off the pace, Buster Edwards produced an extraordinary finishing effort that surprised everyone, including his jockey. Tudor later joked, 'Mr Pipe said not to get there too soon', but even he could not have anticipated how his mount 'sprouted wings' in the closing stages.

Strike West, ridden by Billy Garrity, appeared to have taken the measure of his nearest pursuers, Donnie Brasco and Passam, on the run to the line and was matched for £7,332 at 1.01 on Betfair. However, in the final half a furlong, Buster Edwards honed into view of television cameras, coming home with a wet sail to collar Strike West in the final stride and win by a head in a jaw-dropping finish.

Prince Monolulu

The history of horse racing has seen its fair share of 'colourful' characters, but perhaps none more so than Ras Prince Monolulu, the original maverick, showman tipster. Instantly recognisable by his resplendent garb, topped with a headdress of ostrich feathers, Monolulu held court at racecourses throughout Britain in the first half of the twentieth century. His catchphrase, 'I gotta horse, I gotta horse to beat the favourite', proved to be true, or so legend has it, when he backed Spion Kop, winner of the 1920 Derby at 100/6, to win £8,000, or £365,000 by modern standards.

Born Peter McKay in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands in 1881, Monolulu arrived in England, via New York, at the turn of the twentieth century. He claimed to be, and styled himself as, a chief of the Falasha tribe of the old Abyssinia, or Ethiopia, as it is now. According to researcher John Pearson, that claim was 'a load of rubbish, but it gave him the chance to dress up as someone who would be recognised.'

An engaging, humourous character, Monolulu rose to become a national, even international, celebrity. He was a fixture of Derby Day at Epsom for decades and, while his tips, which he offered at ten shillings apiece, were largely unsuccessful, he was the most famous black man in Britain for most of his life. Monolulu died in a London hospital on Valentine's Day, 1965, at the age of 84, reputedly choking to death on a strawberry cream chocolate given to him by journalist Jeffrey Bernard.