Clive Brittain | Horse Racing Free Tips

American jockey Steve Cauthen and the outstanding turf mare Pebbles (GB) (Sharpen Up {GB}) will be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the official Hall of Fame for Flat racing in Britain. The newest inductees will be recognized on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Oct. 21, with Cauthen making a rare trip over from the US.

Cauthen becomes just the fifth rider to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, while Pebbles becomes the first of her gender to be inducted alongside the likes of Frankel (GB) and his legendary late sire Galileo (Ire). Cauthen and Pebbles teamed to win the 1985 Eclipse S. at Sandown.

Now 63, Cauthen is the only jockey in history to have ridden the winners of both the Derby and Kentucky Derby and is the youngest to have ever won the US Triple Crown aboard Affirmed in 1978. He is the only jockey to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, which he did alongside the late boxer Muhammad Ali. Cauthen was Britain's champion jockey on three occasions and rode the winners of 10 English Classics, all but one for trainer Sir Henry Cecil, including Derby winners Slip Anchor and Reference Point.

“I'm grateful to have had so many brilliant opportunities on both sides of the pond and to still be recognised for my achievements is really quite special to me.

“Having been inducted into America's Hall of Fame some years back, it's an honour to now celebrate my induction into Great Britain's Hall of Fame, and I'm looking forward to marking this moment with family and friends on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot later this month.”

Trained by Clive Brittain, Pebbles overcame quirkiness and a variety of setbacks and became the first British-conditioned winner of a Breeders' Cup race when successful in the 1985 Turf at Aqueduct. She had previous won the G1 1000 Guineas and the G1 Champion S. at Newmarket prior to her American conquest.

Said Brittain, “I still think about her today and can see her fresh in my mind, particularly with her boyfriend, Come On The Blues. Theirs was a great love story and he accompanied her wherever she went–even travelling out to America with her for the Breeders' Cup Turf. That day was the only time that I've been racing and felt nervous, but I just did the same as we'd have done at home and it all worked out.”

Speaking on behalf of Godolphin, the racing operation owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, Pebbles's owner, managing director Hugh Anderson added, “Pebbles was a uniquely talented and very tough racehorse with an outstanding race record. She truly was one of the best racehorses of the 1980s and a flagbearer for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's racing operation at the time. She is a very deserving inductee to the Hall of Fame and His Highness is delighted to see her achievements recognised in this way.”

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The speedy Group 1 winner Var (Forest Wildcat-Loma Preata, by Zilzal) was euthanised in South Africa on Monday. The 23-year-old had been pensioned at Avontuur Stud since last July.

“Var was my pride and joy,” Avontuur Stud General Manager Pippa Mickleburgh told the Sporting Post. “He changed the lives of untold racing and non-racing folk both here and across the world. He was a character and a champion extraordinaire. The scars of a battle bravely fought caught up with our loyal soldier in the end. We couldn't leave him to bear the pressure and the pain on his limbs anymore and after agonising over veterinary advice, we were left with no choice. We are all devastated.”

Bred by Dr. John Eaton in Kentucky, the dark bay was a $42,000 RNA as a Keeneland November weanling that progressed to be a $120,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. Racing in the Darley silks for trainer Bill Mott through his first 15 starts, the colt won an allowance optional claimer in January of 2004, before he was purchased privately and won Goodwood's Listed Starlit S. in September of that year for new trainer Clive Brittain and owner Mohammed Rashid. Second to The Tatling (Ire) (Perugino {Aus}) in Newbury's G3 Trophy S. later that month, he defeated his vanquisher in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp in October. His sprinting efforts made him top of his division in the UK from five to seven furlongs a year's end.

Retired after a two-race 2005 campaign with a mark of 22-7-2-1 and $336,001 in earnings, Var became a successful sire in South Africa with his first crop eventually yielding six stakes winners. Currently, the stallion has 56 black-type winners to his credit, 30 of them at the graded level. Of those, a dozen are winners at the highest level, anchored by dual South African Horse of the Year Variety Club (SAf), a five-time Grade 1 winner. The son of French listed-placed Loma Preata earned titles as the Leading Sire of 2-Year-Olds in 2016/17 and 2017/18, and he was also a Champion Sire of Winners in 2018/19.

Added Avontuur's Michael and Philip Taberer, “Beyond the raw statistics, he captivated hearts and will live on in his place of honour at Avontuur forever. We thank every shareholder, breeder, supporter and racing fan who played a role in making him a success. What an honour it has been to be a part of a modern day fairytale.”

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