Looking Back 9) Our Vic

                      Our Vic
         (Photo courtesy of Bill Selwyn)

While still on the Aintree theme I thought we had to look back at another superstar to have been through Pond House that triumphed at the track, Our Vic.  He is a 1998 born son of Old Vic out of a mare called Shabra Princess.  He was bought by David Johnson from the Tom Costello dynasty having won an Irish point to point at Oldcastle in March 2002 and he arrived in the yard that summer.

We knew he was pretty special from the moment he arrived.  He made his debut over hurdles at Exeter in December 2002 winning by 12 lengths with A P McCoy in the saddle.  He had a further two runs that season winning both at Taunton and Wincanton and was impressive on every occasion. 

After a summer at grass his first outing of the new season was at Sandown in December 2003.  He finished runner up in the William Hill listed handicap hurdle over 2 miles off a mark of 140.  The plan was always to go over fences that season and he made his chasing debut at Exeter in February 2004.  He won his first two chases, the second was the Reynoldstown at Ascot and then he went to the Cheltenham Festival and finished third in the Royal and SunAlliance Novices Chase, only beaten 3 1/4 lengths by Rule Supreme.

After his summer holiday that year he made his seasonal reappearance in the Bonusprint.com Gold Cup at Cheltenham in December. Timmy Murphy was now on board having been appointed as the retained jockey for owner David Johnson.  He was in the lead and staying on when he unfortunately took a very heavy fall at the last fence and it was a case of what might have been.  Although he got up and seemed fine it took him a while to get over that fall mentally more than anything.  He ran twice more that season in the spring of 2005 and pulled up at both Cheltenham and Aintree not looking like the horse we knew he was.

Thankfully some time out at grass that summer proved just what he needed and he returned with victory in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November 2005.   He improved MCP’s incredible record in the race, he having won seven of the last ten renewals of it.  It was a strong renewal of the race that day and off a mark of 149 Our Vic was somewhere back to near his best.

The rest of that season for him followed a bit of a pattern that went good run, bad run, good run, bad run, good run!  He pulled up at Cheltenham next time following his Paddy Power win but then beat My Will to win a valuable contest at Lingfield.  He then disappointed at the Cheltenham Festival but went back to the track in April and won another competitive chase.

MCP retired from training at the end of the 2005/6 season and David took over the reins.  Our Vic ran his first race for David at Wetherby in the Grade 1 Charlie Hall Chase in November 2006.  He travelled like a dream this day and looked like the winner a long way from home. He went on from 4 out and won hard held beating useful rival Neptune Collonges by seven lengths.  He then had an excellent spring campaign without actually winning.  He finished second to Exotic Dancer at Cheltenham in January and then finished a very close runner up to Taranis in the Ryanair Chase at the 2007 Cheltenham Festival.  He was hampered four out that day and stayed on very gamely up the Cheltenham hill but could not quite get there.  He finished that season with a third at Aintree after this.

              Our Vic & Kauto Star
         Photo Courtesy of Bill Selywn

His first run the following season was in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day where he finished second behind the might Kauto Star.  He was runner up at Cheltenham next time in January before he got his richly deserved success at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival.  He won the Ryanair chase beating Mossbank by five lengths wearing first time blinkers.  I was at Cheltenham that day and it was a pretty magical when he came back into the winners enclosure with the crowd cheering.  He then went to Aintree for the Melling Chase to take on Kauto Star once again.  This is also a day that sticks well in my memory.  I remember we had a power cut at Pond House during the afternoon, after which we could not get the TV in the office back working to watch the race.  Together with Mrs Pipe and a few others we managed to get one of the girls who worked and lived on site’s TV working in the hostel and so we were all crowded in her room to watch the race and what a race!  Our Vic ran an absolute blinder and was involved in a tremendous tussle with Kauto Star all the way up the straight and he prevailed by a nose in the photo finish.  Let’s just say I am not sure there was much work done in the office for the rest of that day as we all celebrated with a glass of bubbles!  We have a great photo of him from this day still on our computers as the office screen saver!

     Our Vic in Retirement at Newmarket

The following season did not see Our Vic at is best and he was pulled up in the King George and the Cheltenham Festival although he did finish fourth at Aintree that April.

His final season to race was 2009/10 and although he perhaps lacked consistency that year he still won two chases at Warwick and Haydock and also finished second at Haydock as well.  Following his retirement David Johnson gifted him to the Racing School and hundreds of the young people that go through their training programmes have been able to ride and gallop a Cheltenham Festival winner.  He spent some time based the Horse Racing Museum at Newmarket as well and people love to go and see him still today.  He is still going strong at 22 years of age and he continues to be invaluable to racing for all that he does and he has his very own fan club!

Rated 171 at best he won fourteen of 35 career starts and was placed a further nine times and he won over £712,000 in prize money.    He competed at five consecutive Cheltenham Festivals which is an amazing feat in itself.  He has been an amazing horse both in his racing days and with all that he has done since and we are very proud to have been associated with him.