KING OF THE HANDICAP´S

Wikipedia, a very reliable source in the word-wide-web, says that " A Handicap race, is a horse race where horses carry different weights. A better horse will carry a heavier weight in order to make the race fairer. The purpose of this is to make the races more interesting to bet on, as although one is less likely to win, one will win more if their horse does win. This allows for more skill in betting. Although most handicap races are not for the very best horses, this is not true in all cases, and some of the biggest races in the World are Handicaps, such as the Grand National and the Melbourne Cup."

Well, true, but there is much more behind it. In order to allow horses to compete against "suitable" opponents, races are divided in many different groups, like a league in football, really. Top-class racehorses perform in Group-Races (like the Derby, the King-George Diamond Stakes etc.), where all horses are asked to carry more or less the same weight, with small allowances being made for younger horses and fillies. Like in the Premier League, only a very few and selected group of horses will ever be able to perform at this standard, and by far the majority of horses will compete in so-called Handicap-Races, where the different ability of horses will be assessed in the different weight the horse has to carry, so that persumably the best horse in the race carries top-weight, and horses with less ability (according to the handicapper) are allotted less weight, in order to give them a chance too. Just think of yourself, running against Sebastian Coe, but he would carry 20 pounds more on his back than you - you might just be in with a chance ....
Horse-Racing is based on that assumption, and so-called Handicapper´s rate every horse´s every performance and add or substract weight from the existing handicap-mark, in order to make races competitive and -in theory at least- give every horse a chance. Handicap-Races itself are divided in classes again, from class 6 to class 2, with no Class 1 - Handicap´s as such (this would be Listed Races, a class to bridge the gap between Handicap´s and Group-Races); so for every time a horse performs well, its weight (just to make it clear, it´s not the horses OWN weight, but the weight it has to carry in his races :) !) will rise; if it continues to run well and wins, it will inevitably have to run in better class races, against better opponents, albeit for better money too.
Even though Handicap-Races are the real backbone of the racing system, the "bread&butter"-races really, some Handicap-Races have a very long history and have progressed beyond their mere status. Just think, the Grand National and the Melbourne Cup are, after all, "just" Handicap´s! England has a series of races called "Heritage Handicap´s", highly competitive races with a long tradition and a high reputation. They come in all shapes as you have Handicap´s for Sprinter´s (such as the Portland Handicap, The Steward´s Cup, The Ayr Gold Cup), for Milers (e.g.The Tote International Handicap, run on King George Day, The Cambridgeshire), and some are for stayers, with the most important one´s being the Northumberland Plate (run over 16f in Newcastle in june), the Tote Ebor Handicap (York in august, 14f) and the Ceasarewich (Newmarket in october, 18f).

Until Sergeant Cecil came along in 2005, no horse in the long history of horseracing has ever managed to win all three races in the same season.

The Northumberland Plate is a flat horse race in the United Kingdom which forms the centrepiece of a three-day festival at Newcastle Racecourse, usually on the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in June. The race is a handicap run over a distance of 2 miles 19 yards (3,236 metres) and is contested by thoroughbreds aged three-years-old and upwards.

It was first run in 1883 and was originally known as the Pitmen's Derby and is still thus described in the north-east of England. In its early years, it afforded a rare holiday for the local mining families who flocked to the course to enjoy the racing. The Northumberland Plate is one of the richest two-mile handicaps in the world.

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The Ebor Handicap is a flat horse race in the United Kingdom for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 197 yards (2,795 metres) at York Racecourse during the Ebor Festival meeting in August.(EBOR the Roman word for YORK)hence it´s name.

It was first run in 1843, and is now the most valuable handicap race of its kind in Europe.

(www.wikipedia.org)

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The Cesarewitch Handicap
First Run: 1839
Month Run: October
Venue: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Distance: 1 mile 1 furlong
Status: Handicap for 3 year olds and upwards
Run on the straight Rowley Mile course, this event is contested over the rarely run distance of 9 furlongs, and consequently is a race that often sees a particular horse running well year after year; dual winners include Sterope, Prince De Galles and Baronet. With the Cesarewitch it forms the 'Autumn Double', and although these days no horse would contest both events, back in the Victorian times Rosebery (1876), Foxhall (1878) and Plaisanterie (1881) achieved the rare feat of winning both in the same season. The 1903 renewal saw Hackler's Pride land one of the biggest-ever betting coups when taking the prize for the 'Druids Lodge Confederacy', who collected about GBP10 million (by today's values) in winning bets.

(www.tbheritage.com)

What the Racingpost said about Sergeant Cecil´s performances:

25th june 2005: John Smith's Northumberland Plate (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo+)

1 Sergeant Cecil 7 B R Millman 6 8-8 Alan Munro 14/1
2 1½ Tungsten Strike (USA) 17 Mrs A J Perrett 4 9-1 Joe Fanning 16/1
3 1¼ Far Pavilions 11 G A Swinbank 6 9-0 Robert Winston 6/1
4 shd Astrocharm (IRE) 1 M H Tompkins 6 8-11 Saleem Golam(7) 20/1
5 nk Odiham 12 H Morrison 4 8-8 Steve Drowne 7/1
6 nk Balkan Knight 20 D R C Elsworth 5 8-7 Daniel Tudhope(5) 16/1
7 1½ Sendintank 18 S C Williams 5 8-12 David Allan 33/1
8 ¾ Mirjan (IRE) 13 L Lungo 9 8-9 b Paul Hanagan 25/1

A high-class renewal, in effect a 92-108 handicap, run at a true gallop. SERGEANT CECIL never left the inside rail and met his fair share of traffic problems, but it may well have suited him as he has to be produced as late as possible. Having finally got an opening, he quickened between horses to lead inside the final furlong and stamina was certainly not a problem.

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17th of sugust 2005: totesport Ebor (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo+)


1 Sergeant Cecil 18 B R Millman 6 8-12 Alan Munro 11/1
2 1 Carte Diamond (USA) 8 B Ellison 4 9-7 Jimmy Fortune 20/1
3 nk Grampian (GB) 2 J G Given 6 9-0 T Quinn 16/1
4 ¾ Balkan Knight 7 D R C Elsworth 5 8-12 John Egan 9/2F
5 2 Zeitgeist (IRE) 1 L M Cumani 4 9-0 v Kerrin McEvoy 10/1 98 86 105
6 hd Jagger 4 G A Butler 5 9-2 Darryll Holland 16/1
7 nk Sendintank 20 S C Williams 5 8-12 Martin Dwyer 12/1
8 2½ Odiham 5 H Morrison 4 8-8 Steve Drowne 25/1

Not a vintage Ebor, noticeably lacking in progressive three-year-olds, a band of horses which are always so dangerous in this historic event.
There was a good, even gallop to this renewal from the outset, with Jagger taking the field along. SEGEANT CECIL, a proven hold-up performer, was given a balls-of-steel ride by Alan Munro, who sat in the back three horses until beginning a gradual forward move once in line for home. His progress was relentless and the further the race went, the stronger he became, and it was only a matter of whether he got a clear run entering the last, which he duly did, to settle the issue towards the finish. A much-improved horse, who now goes into the history books as the first winner of both the Northumberland Plate andthe Ebor in the same year since 1911, he is a credit to connections.

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15th of october 2005: totesport Cesarewitch (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo+)

1 Sergeant Cecil 28 B R Millman 6 9-8 Alan Munro 10/1
2 ¾ King Revo (IRE) 1 P C Haslam 5 8-3 Philip Robinson 20/1
3 2 Inchnadamph 4 T J Fitzgerald 5 8-0 1t Martin Dwyer 50/1
4 2 Vinando 11 C R Egerton 4 9-3 tb L Dettori 25/1
5 3 Elusive Dream 10 Sir Mark Prescott 4 8-9 Seb Sanders 11/1
6 1 Land ´n Stars 22 Jamie Poulton 5 9-0 7 Paul Doe 9/1
7 hd Mirjan (IRE) 36 L Lungo 9 8-7 b Paul Mulrennan(3) 16/1
8 nk Escayola (IRE) 9 W J Haggas 5 8-6 tb John Egan 16/1

A particularly rough race, with the big field bunching badly into the final four furlongs, although it did not look to impact much on the result with the possible exception of Vinando.
SERGEANT CECIL completed a unique treble of the Northumberland Plate, Ebor and this big handicap. He has proved himself a class act over staying trip this season and got into this race 5lb well-in, having been reassessed after his fine second to Millenary in the Doncaster Cup. He was given an ice-cool ride and benefited from staying close to the inside rail and taking the shortest way home, unlike some of his rivals. King Revo looked to have gone beyond recall as Sergeant Cecil waited for a gap, but he picked up strongly and won a shade cleverly.
Having improved more than a stone this year in the toughest races, and possibly been outsmarted by Millenary in top form, he looks a leading contender for Cup honours, especially if Westerner is retired.