Silver Fame
| Silver Fame | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Werwolf |
| Grandsire | Hurry On |
| Dam | Silver Fairy |
| Damsire | He Goes |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 1939 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Owner | Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester |
| Trainer | George Beeby |
| Record | 23 wins |
| Major wins | |
| Seven Springs Handicap Chase (1948) Golden Miller Chase Stanley Chase (1950) National Hunt Handicap Chase (1950) Cheltenham Gold Cup (1951) |
|
Silver Fame (foaled 1939) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his racing career in Ireland he moved to England and became one of the leading steeplechasers of his time. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1948 and 1950 and ran twice in the Grand National, falling when favourite for the race in 1948. Despite running extremely well at Cheltenham he did not contest the Gold Cup until 1951 when he won the race in record time. He was also the oldest winner of the race up to that time, and remains one of only two horses to win the race at the age of twelve. He spent his retirement as a hunter.
Silver Fame was a "big, pale chestnut with a white blaze" bred in the United Kingdom. He was sired by Werwolf, a son of Hurry On and therefore a representative of the Godolphin Arabian sire-line. Werwolf was a very successful National Hunt stallion who also sired the Grand National winner Bogskar and the Champion Hurdler Free Fare. Silver Fame's dam Silver Fairy was a distant female-line descendant of the Epsom Oaks winner Cyprian.
During his racing career Silver Fame was owned Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester and trained by George Beeby. Beeby trained the horse at Hamilton House at Compton in Berkshire. Silver Fame's racing style meant that he seldom won by a wide margin but was very difficult to overtake once he took the lead.
Silver Fame began his racing career in Ireland and recorded his first success in a bumper at Naas Racecourse in 1943. He was sent to England after the war and developed into a high-class steeplechaser in the late 1940s proving particularly well-suited to courses such as Cheltenham Racecourse (where he won ten times over fences) and Sandown Park. He was less adept over the bigger fences of Aintree Racecourse and never completed any of his races at the Lancashire track. In the 1947 Grand National he started at odds of 33/1 but fell in the race after being hampered by loose horses three fences from the finish. In the following season he won his first five races and was again aimed at the National. At the 1948 Cheltenham Festival he won the £600 Seven Springs Handicap Chase carrying top weight of 175 pounds. He also won the Golden Miller Chase at the same course, over a distance of four miles. In his second attempt at the Grand National he was made the 9/1 favourite, but fell at Becher's Brook on the first circuit.
...
Wikipedia