- Cottage Rake
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Cottage Rake Sire Cottage Grandsire Tracery Dam Hartingo Damsire Hartford Sex Gelding Foaled 1939 Country Ireland Colour Bay Breeder Richard Vaughan Owner Frank Vickerman Trainer Vincent O'Brien Major wins Irish Cesarewitch (1947)
Cheltenham Gold Cup (1948, 1949, 1950)
King George VI Chase (1948)Horse (Equus ferus caballus) Last updated on January 1, 2008 Cottage Rake (1939–1961) was a successful National Hunt racehorse. Breeder was Richard Vaughan from Hunting Hall, Castletown Roche, Co. Cork, Ireland. Before he embarked on his spectacular jumping career he was failed by a vet on three different examinations. On the last of these occasions the vet was working for Frank Vickerman, who had just become one of the first patrons of a new Irish trainer named Vincent O'Brien. But the deal still went through and Cottage Rake ultimately set his trainer on the route to the top of the training ladder by becoming only the second horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup three years in a row. He achieved this impressive hat-trick from 1948–1950, with his most imposing victory being the last of the trio when he beat Finnure by ten lengths. His hardest-won triumph had come the previous year when he only got the better of Cool Customer in the final 100 yards. Such was his partnership with jockey Aubrey Brabazon that a verse was composed about their success. Sadly, Cottage Rake completely lost his form after his third Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph. He moved over to Gerald Balding's stable in England but the change of scenery could not resurrect it.
See also
References
- The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing - written by Bill Mooney and George Ennor
- Cottage Rake's pedigree and racing stats
Categories:- 1939 racehorse births
- 1961 racehorse deaths
- Cheltenham Gold Cup winners
- Cheltenham Festival winners
- Thoroughbred racehorses
- National Hunt racehorses
- Racehorses trained in Ireland
- Irish racehorses
- Racehorse stubs
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