Thunder Snow, at the start of the 2017 Kentucky Derby, had better days to come. (Coady Photography)
Refusing to Race but Eager to Steal Our Hearts
By Michaela Moricova
In the first part of this mini-series, I talked about Chautauqua and Sariska. They were two notorious refuseniks, but more of them deserve mention in this second part. As I said earlier, I am a massive fan of British and Irish jump races; therefore, I’ll focus here on the jumpers who caused lots of head-scratching to their teams.
Still, I’ll start with a few flat horses who didn’t refuse to participate in the races per se as they simply dwelt in the gates for too long or showed their quirkiness only on one occasion. Yet, this one occasion happened at such a renowned meeting that everybody remembers it.
Thunder Snow and the Kentucky Derby
We all easily rekindle the memory of Kentucky Derby 2017. Saeed bin Surror had an exciting horse for the race in Thunder Snow, a G1 winner in France and a Classic winner in Dubai; however, the son of Helmet showed a mind of his own. Thunder Snow jumped out of the gate late, then bucked under Christophe Soumillon, and once it was clear the race was over for him, the jockey didn’t push him into it.
It was a shame as the Kentucky Derby was particularly weak, and Thunder Snow could’ve spiced the race up, yet it wasn’t meant to be. It was unfortunate that the stallion decided to misbehave on such a day that as, of course, you can run in the Kentucky Derby only once. Still, I believe he made it up for the team later on as he became the first back-to-back winner of the Dubai World Cup. Moreover, he won the G1 Prix Jean Prat in France and finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic 2018 behind Accelerate.
I’ll Run… BUT!
Before I focus on some jumpers, I have to mention these two wayward warriors: Silky Sullivan and Pakistan Star. The former one couldn’t be perceived as a refusenik, because he actually ran his races; however, he had a style on his own and everybody had to let him do it his way. Otherwise, he would quickly show what he thinks about it. Silky Sullivan scored 12 victories in 27 starts, all when finishing from an impossible position. He needed to trail behind the field by a large margin and wait for the last moment to improve, but when he decided it was time to show his turn of foot, he managed to grab even the Santa Anita Derby.
Silky Sullivan was the unlikely star in the 1950s, while from 2016 to 2021, we could see some shenanigans delivered by Pakistan Star. The horse was born in Germany in 2013 but spent his career in Hong Kong, where he scored in a couple of G1 races, including the QEII Cup. However, he could’ve been much more successful hadn’t he dwelt in the gates for too long, then trailed behind the field, and sometimes he wanted to erase the gap, sometimes he didn’t. Sometimes, he would behave at the beginning of the race to throw it away in the final turn, going in the opposite direction, or he would simply slow down and refuse to win.
Mad Moose Laughing at Rules
This is a horse people were traveling to see if he would run. Born in 2004, the son of Presenting is probably the most notorious refusenik among jumpers of the 21st century. The chestnut spent his career with Nigel Twiston-Davies, for whom he won several smaller races, but during the season 2012/2013, he also gave him a severe continuous headache.
In October of the mentioned season, Mad Moose had a decent chance to score in a handicap steeplechase in Cheltenham; however, he refused to take part. It was the first time he officially refused to race. It looked like it was a one-time thing as Mad Moose successfully started in the next four races, including the G1 Clarence House Chase, where he finished second only behind a legendary Sprinter Sacre. Unfortunately for the team, the gelding showed his stubbornness again at Cheltenham, refusing to start in a G3 handicap. He didn’t make amends next time because he failed to budge in Aintree.
In the remaining seven starts, Mad Moose crossed the wire four times, twice refused to race, and in the Tingle Creek Chase in 2013, he started off but stopped before the first fence. The team tried to give him more rest between the races; he even had a whole year off at one point, but nothing worked. In 2014, Mad Moose was banned from racing and has enjoyed retirement since.
The One This Mini-Series Started With
The idea to write about horses who became famous, also thanks to their attitudes towards races, came to me in November 2023. Back then, one of the most interesting chasers in the UK, Shishkin, refused to race in the 1965 Chase when being the hot favorite. Although he didn’t finish his next race, he seemed to be enjoying the races itself. He is a bit quirky, and even this information alone ensures people will follow his starts, waiting to see if he will behave.
Indeed, he won’t be the last as there were several others like him or Mad Moose, while the last to mention is Vodkatini. He raced against phenomenal Desert Orchid and looked ready to take him on in the G1 Tingle Creek in 1988; however, he didn’t feel like it. Not even his trainer, shaking a can with pebbles, persuaded the refusenik to run.
