Master Oats

Master Oats
Sire	Oats
Grandsire	Northfields
Dam	Miss Poker Face
Damsire	Raise You Ten
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1986
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Robin and Scarlett Knipe
Owner	Mrs Hugh Maitland-Jones Paul Matthews
Trainer	Henrietta Knight Kim Bailey
Record	21: 10-3-2
Earnings	£254,399
Major wins
Greenalls Gold Cup (1994) Rehearsal Chase (1994) Welsh National (1994) Pillar Property Chase (1995) Cheltenham Gold Cup (1995)

Master Oats (14 May 1986 – 21 May 2012) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran twenty-one time and won ten races. He campaigned mainly at distances in excess of three miles and was particularly effective on soft or heavy ground. Over a period of sixteen months between November 1993 and March 1995 Master Oats won nine of his eleven races and improved from racing in minor handicaps to become the highest-rated staying chaser in Britain. His winning run culminated in a win in the 1995 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He also ran in three editions of the Grand National, twice carrying top weight. His later career was disrupted by injury and he failed to win again after his Gold Cup success. Master Oats was retired from racing in 1998 and died in 2012.

Master Oats was a chestnut horse with a narrow white stripe bred by Robin and Scarlett Knipe at the Cobhall Court Stud near Allensmore in Herefordshire. He was sired by Oats, a successful National Hunt stallion whose other progeny included the Champion Hurdle winner Flakey Dove.

Master Oats was sent to the Doncaster Sales as a foal in 1986 where he was sold for £6,000. He first raced in the colours of Mrs Hugh Maitland-Jones and was sent into training with Henrietta Knight. After one run in an amateur Point-to-point race he was moved to the Lambourn stable of Kim Bailey, who trained him throughout the rest of his racing career. Master Oats usually raced in a sheepskin noseband. Throughout his racing career, Master Oats suffered from a tendency to break blood vessels under stress, and therefore had to be trained with unusual care.

Unlike many steeplechasers, Master Oats never competed in National Hunt flat races or over hurdles. He ran once without success in an amateur point-to-point race before beginning his career under National Hunt rules in Novice chases. After being pulled-up at Newbury Racecourse in November, he was campaigned at minor tracks, winning at Southwell Racecourse and being place at Wolverhampton and Stratford.

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