raffingora

Saw it win at Epsom in the 60's

Cant help your request but have very fond memories of this horse who I think was trained by Bill Marshall who also trained My Swanee who also carried top weight of 10 stone in a good few handicaps.
They both ran on the same card several times and vividly remember placing a £10 double which won.
I hope this info is correct.

Beautiful days and 2 horses the truly great man rode.

Bill Marshall trained them alright , both were amazing horses regularly carrying 10 stone to victory , almost always ridden be Lester , My Swannee had one peculiarity , he was next to useless over a straight mile , but against the same opposition round a bend he was nigh on unbeatable.

Looks like the race would have been 69/70:-

This was in the RP a few years ago:-

Raffingora, who became a great public favourite through his weight-carrying exploits in handicaps, set his world record for five furlongs in 1970 and it lasted for 13 years.

He set the record with a breathtaking performance in the Cherkley Sprint Handicap at Epsom's Derby meeting.

Carrying 10st, the powerful grey had plenty to do at halfway, but produced a dramatic late run under Lester Piggott to get up right on the line in a time of 53.89sec. Raffingora's electrically timed world record was beaten by the current holder Spark Chief, who, carrying only 7st 12lb, clocked 53.70sec over the same course in 1983. This is superior to Indigenous's mark of 53.6sec in 1960, because the latter was hand-timed and thus flattered the winner by several tenths of a second.

The Americans think that sprint records set at Epsom are bogus because the course is mainly downhill. They are right, but US records are also bogus as they are timed from a flying start.

Raffingora won more Flat races in Britain than any other horse in both 1969 (eight wins) and 1970 (nine). Most of those victories came in handicaps, as he proved a magnificent weight-carrier and kept improving in the face of stiffer and stiffer tasks. He also won two races of Group class - the Temple Stakes and King George Stakes in 1970, the year before the Pattern was introduced.



I remember seeing that Epsom race on the BBC. Piggott had said before hand that if he was within 3 lengths of the lead at the furlong pole, he'd win. Well a furlong out, he was as near as dammit 3 lengths down (in the centre of the course. Duty Sheet had gone for home up the far rail carrying about 7-11 for Doug Marks/P Madden). He nailed her on the line.

He won twice at York in '69, and once there in '70.

Raffingora put up a stunning performance in the Cherkley Sprint handicap at the Epsom Derby meeting in 1970.  Carrying 10-00 and ridden by Lester he set a then electronically timed world record of 53.89 seconds.  The same year he also won the Temple Stakes at Sandown and King George Stakes at Goodwood.

http://theapprenticejockey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/it-will-be-long-time-before-we-see-his.html

...is taken from the write up from Racehorses of 1970:-


RAFFINGORA 5 gr.h. Grey Sovereign 128 §--Cameo 114 (Como 120) 130 [1968 5g* 5g4 5s6 6f2 610e 5fg4 5.7s 5v 5d 1969 6fg3 5f* 6d* Mg* 6fg3 5•9s* 5g4 5.9f2 5f5 5g2 5g5 5g* 5.6fg 51. 1970 5g3 5g5 5g3 5f* 5f* 5f* 5h 5fg* 5g* 5c1* 5v3 5fg* 5f* 5g3]


Raffingora's brilliant achievements over the past two seasons earned him a place among the immortals of the Turf. His tremendous record in that time — seventeen wins from twenty eight starts — is all the more impressive when one considers that the majority of his races were in handicaps in which he nearly always had 10-0 or more to carry. To the amazement of almost everyone, he kept on winning in the face of stiffer and stiffer treatment from the handicappers. Excepting the 1969 Portland Handicap, in which Raffingora had to concede 9lb to Mountain Call, one has to go back to June 1969 to find the last occasion on which the big grey was beaten in a handicap. The Portland was also the only occasion after May 1969 on which Raffingora ran when handicapped to carry less than 10-0.


In 1970 Raffingora's achievements were remarkable. He won more races than any other horse in training and put up the most spectacular handicap performance of the season when winning the Cherkley Sprint at Epsom, where he recorded the fastest five furlongs ever electrically timed. He also won two of the most important weight-for-age sprints of the season, the Temple Stakes at Sandown and the King George Stakes at Goodwood. It is not hard to see why he ranks as one of the most popular horses ever to race in this country.


By the time the Cherkley Sprint Handicap was run at the Epsom Derby meeting, Raffingora had already fulfilled the winter prediction of his trainer that he would be a better horse at five years than he had been at four. Wins in handicaps at Epsom in April and York in May were followed by a victory in the Temple Stakes. In this race Raffingora decisively turned the tables on The Brianstan who had finished in front of him in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket a month earlier. Here was a clear indication that Raffingora was better than ever and a real prospect for the sprint championship. Had the handicapper had the result of the Temple Stakes to hand when framing the weights for the Cherkley Sprint he would probably have given Raffingora a little more to do. Not that Raffingora had an easy task! The Brianstan, Tribal Chief and Decoy Boy were the best of the recognised sprinting three-year-olds at the time and all three took the field. The older horses were Mount Melody, Pals Passage, Duty Sheet, Trillium, Constans and Salan, and all received between 16 lb and 28 lb from Raffingora.


What a race the Cherkley Sprint turned out to be! Raffingora got some way behind in the first half of the race and as Duty Sheet led clear into the final furlong it looked impossible for her to be caught. Meanwhile Raffingora, after having been in an apparently hopeless position at least six lengths behind the leader two furlongs out, was making up ground on the outside.
With Piggott riding at his strongest and Raffingora responding magnificently, the gap was cut to three lengths with two hundred yards to go, two lengths with a hundred yards to go and about a length with fifty yards to go. At the post there was precious little in it, though few shared Piggott's opinion that Raffingora had got up. The photograph showed a short head in his favour. The electrically recorded time for Raffingora was 53.89 seconds, over a fifth of a second outside the world record time for five furlongs accredited to Indigenous when he carried 9-5 to victory in the Tadworth Handicap at the Derby meeting in 1960. The 53.60 seconds returned for Indigenous was hand timed. As a general rule, one can expect an electrically recorded time to be around half a second longer than a time taken by hand. Our two representatives clocked Raffingora at 53.38 seconds and 53.35 seconds. Back in 1960, we timed Indigenous at 53.59 seconds, so we can certainly say that Raffingora put up the fastest time for five furlongs that we have ever taken.


Raffingora was on the crest of a wave and he started a warm favourite for the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. Once again he got behind in the early stages, but this time it was not Duty Sheet that he had to catch but Amber Rama, Huntercombe and Balidar. He never looked like getting to the fighting line and at the finish was seventh, nine lengths behind the winner, Amber Rama. Later events showed that Raffingora was not up to beating Amber Rama, Huntercombe and Balidar, but he certainly ran below his best in the King's Stand Stakes, in which Pisces, Prince Tenderfoot and Cinerama Two also beat him home.


On his next outing, at Haydock in July, Raffingora gained a narrow victory over War Ace in the Great Central Handicap, in the process giving useful sprint handicappers such as Crescent Dart, Blatanro, and Slitheroe beatings of between three and four stones! The sight of Raffingora's name among the entries for a sprint handicap must have been an anathema to the Jockey Club handicappers. They handicapped him up to the hilt after each victory but still he kept on winning. In the John Banks Gold Cup at Lanark later in July the handicapper set Raffingora to carry the burden of 10-8. The next horse down the weights was the useful and consistent Sweet Thanks, who was set to receive no less than 32 lb. Eight tough races in under four months would have knocked the stuffing out of a lot of horses but Raffingora turned out at Lanark looking as fresh as paint and bigger than ever. With Piggott riding Balidar in France, stable-apprentice Jackson was given the mount on Raffingora. After bouncing Raffingora smartly out of the gate he kept him up with the leaders all the way. Two furlongs out Raffingora was a definite leader and he kept on gamely in the final furlong to hold off the three-year-old Swinging Again by half a length.


One had almost come to expect the impossible from Raffingora by this time, but his performance in his next race, the King George Stakes at Goodwood, left even his most ardent admirers speechless. Set the apparently impossible task of giving 15 lb more than weight for age to those very smart three-year-olds The Brianstan and Realm, Raffingora not only won but won easily! He was moving particularly well at halfway, where he was tucked in behind Realm, The Brianstan and the only other runner, Pisces.
He did not challenge until well inside the final furlong where Piggott let out a little rein and Raffingora burst past The Brianstan in a few strides. On paper this was not only the finest performance of Raffingora's career, but also the best performance by any sprinter in this country for many years. The Brianstan received an 18 lb beating, Realm a 19 lb beating and the filly Pisces a 29 lb beating. We say on paper because we believe that Raffingora's chance was helped by the way in which the race was run. After racing each other hell for leather from the start, The Brianstan and Realm were 'pumped out' as they entered the final furlong and had nothing left to resist Raffingora in the closing stages. This is not to detract in any way from the magnificence of Raffingora's victory. It was, for us, one of the highlights of the season.


The going at Goodwood had been on the easy side and Raffingora's connections decided to let him take his chance in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, in spite of the heavy ground. All Raffingora's best performances before Goodwood had been on a sound surface, although he had 'won on soft. Evidently fears were entertained about the ability of Raffingora's main rival, Huntercombe, to handle the ground for Raffingora started favourite. He was clearly ill at ease from the start and was beaten at halfway. Huntercombe and The Brianstan had a brief set-to inside the final furlong before Huntercombe got on top to win by a length. Raffingora, who was eased in the closing stages, finished four lengths further behind, last of the three runners.


Raffingora was given one more chance to prove himself champion sprinter. His supporters had explained, at least to their own satisfaction, Raffingora's defeats in the King's Stand Stakes and the Nunthorpe Stakes. It was announced that Raffingora would take on Huntercombe and Balidar in the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp October. But Raffingora wasn't allowed to rest in the meantime. He picked up minor events at Chepstow and Beverley, and in neither did he have to exert himself overmuch. So to Longchamp... The Prix de l'Abbaye was Raffingora's fourteenth race of the season. Balidar and Huntercombe had each had only half that number. Raffingora looked as well as ever; he had the most favoured starting position; the ground was good. There could be no excuses this time. Piggott chose to ride Balidar and Lindley took the mount on Raffingora. The French betting public made Balidar favourite, fractionally in front of Huntercombe. Apparently Raffingora's exploits in England were not familiar to them and he stood at around 11/1 in the betting until a few minutes before the start. Raffingora broke well from the stalls and was soon in the lead but Balidar kept close company on the outside. Raffingora could hang on to the lead only for three furlongs and he was two and a half lengths behind Balidar and Huntercombe at the line. A further two lengths behind came The Brianstan. Here was conclusive evidence that Raffingora was not up to beating Balidar and Huntercombe on level terms. And through these colts it could be reasoned that Amber Rama was his superior too.


Where then does Raffingora rank among the sprinters of our experience? Certainly there have been better ones, though it should be said that Raffingora was good enough to have been champion sprinter in an average year, but he was racing in a year when there were three outstanding sprinters on the scene. If Raffingora wasn't quite the best sprinter around in 1970, who can deny that he was one of the toughest to race here for many years ? He ran fourteen times in all, the same number as in 1969, on courses as far apart as Lanark and Longchamp, and how well he stood up to his racing. Bill Marshall produced him looking a picture every time he ran and the exacting programme set for him never sapped his enthusiasm for the game.


If ever a horse was built to 'carry big weights, it was Raffingora. A strong, lengthy, deep-bodied individual of immense size and power, Raffingora lacks the quality one hopes to see in a top-class performer, but he possesses enough sterling characteristics to make him a good stallion prospect. Tough and genuine, with a cast-iron constitution, Raffingora showed as a four-year-old that he stayed six furlongs, though he raced exclusively at five in 1970. Raffingora's sire, Grey Sovereign, has sired the winners of over 800 races in England and abroad. His winners include Zeddaan, Don II, Young Emperor, Sovereign Path, Matatina, La Tendresse, Merry Madcap, Sovereign Lord, Gustav, Lanark and Silver King. Not a bad haul by any standards! Raffingora's dam, Cameo, was a very useful five-furlong sprinter. To Sing Sing she produced Reprise, a useful winner at two years in 1966, and Solo Performance, winner of two of her three races in 1970. Raffingora has been partially syndicated at £5,000 a share, his owner retaining the right to hold up to twenty-five of the forty shares. Raffingora will stand at the Lucknam Park Stud, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 1971. It will be a long time before we see his like again on the racecourse. Trained by W. C. Marshall.

Great memories of the grey Raffingora and My Swanee won a lot of money on them, raffingora carried and won with top weight on a number of occasions brilliantly trained by Bill Marshall who i believe was a spitfire pilot in ww11.

That's brilliant ged - thanks very much.  I never tire of seeing, talking or reading about the great horses of the past.

From the same site, and in turn from Racehorses of 1969, MY SWANEE:-


MY SWANEE 6 gr.h. Petition 130-Grey Rhythm 99 (Grey Sovereign 128 §) 122
[1967 81g5 8.7d* 8g* 8f 8.5fg* 8g2 8d* 8g3 9g 1968 12d* 10g* 10fg 10s3 1216 120 12g 8g* 8.3g3 1969 10.2s* 12g2 10d2 10v* 8v* 12g2 812 81* 10.5f* 8s3 8f4 8g5 8f3 8fg3 10f3]


Between them the Bill Marshall trained pair My Swanee and Raffingora must have caused the Jockey Club handicappers many sleepless nights in 1969. The two greys won a total of fourteen races, the majority of them under 9-7 or more, and it must have been a daunting task trying to keep up with them. Both were kept very busy, and My Swanee was on the go from March to September, running on courses as diverse as Chepstow and York, and on going of practically every description. It made no difference to him though, and his record of six wins—one each at Doncaster, Chepstow, Newbury and Sandown, and two at York—reflects great credit on all those concerned with him.


Steady improvement was the keynote of My Swanee's success in 1969. Starting off in modest company, he gradually progressed to take on the very best, and though he wasn't up to beating the top horses, his performances in the Magnet Cup and the Rose of York Handicap stamped him as an outstanding handicapper. Giving upwards of 22lb to such useful animals as Yorkshireman, Sovereign Ruler and Pally's Double, My Swanee won the Magnet Cup easing up by three lengths in a very fast tine. On the bridle most of the way, he was asked to take the lead in the last furlong and when given his head quickly put paid to the opposition.


Five weeks later My Swanee returned to the Knavesmire for the Rose of York Handicap — one of the hottest mile handicaps of the year. His prospects looked far from bright when he turned for home in ninth place, a good way behind the leaders. But the picture soon changed. Halfway up the straight My Swanee coasted up to the leaders, sailed into the lead in the last furlong, and in a tremendous race to the line he held on with great courage to win by a head from Fire King, who was receiving 20 lb, with such as Emerilo, Sovereign Set, Paddy Me and Prince de Galles further behind. Lester Piggott, who was associated with My Swanee in so many of his races, is reported to have said that he had never ridden a gamer, more determined horse in all his life. Certainly if there was one racing in 1969 we never saw it. My Swanee couldn't beat the handicapper every time though, and between the Magnet Cup and the Rose of York Handicap he finished third in the W. D. & H. O, Wills Silver Goblets at Ayr and fourth in the William Hill Gold Cup at Redcar.


Many of his admirers were keen to see how he fared against the top horses, and My Swanee’s clash with Jimmy Reppin, Habitat and Lucyrowe in the Wills Mile at Goodwood provided one of the most interesting races of the year. Meeting all except Lucyrowe on terms better than weight-for-age, My Swanee led for over six furlongs, but when Jimmy Reppin went past he didn't last long and at the finish My Swanee was about five lengths behind Habitat in fifth place. This was to have been his last race before retiring to stud, but he was brought out twice more. Giving weight all round in the Doncaster Handicap, My Swanee was beaten a length and a half by Mark Royal and Remraf, and in a minor race at Goodwood Jimmy Reppin beat him very easily by four lengths. Midnight Marauder separated the pair, beating My Swanee by a neck.


A tough and wonderfully consistent racehorse, My Swanee has now retired, and is to stand at the Waterloo House Stud, Mallow, Co. Cork, at a fee of £400 or £500 no foal/no fee. Altogether he won seventeen races on the flat worth over £16,000, and just to show his versatility he also won over hurdles and finished second to King Cutler in a division of the Gloucestershire Hurdle. He possessed many of the qualities that breeders should be looking for, including soundness, good looks, a fine turn of foot, and, above all, an exceptional will to win. My Swanee stayed a mile and a half, but his best form was shown at shorter distances. He acted on any going. Trained by W. C. Marshall.

Thanks ged.  Wonderful memories of 2 thoroughly game, genuine and consistent horses.  No wrapping them up in cotton wool in those days!!

thanks for all your input
--------------------------
can anyone post raffingora's win record please so i can narrow down the specific race?


thanks

dogstorm - not easily obtained in the detail you require. I doubt that it exists anywhere on the internet. You'll need someone with printed formbooks for the years 1969 and 1970. One person is 'onlooker'. You could put a call out for him.

...and as for the film, you'd probably need to access BBC(?) archives. You could try emailing the BBC, or even Tanya Stevenson, who might know someone in the media who could help. Chances are that the film no longer exists, unless in a private collection somewhere One of Bill Marshall's family? - or the owner's?

Quite shure that Lester rode a 4 timer 1 day with those both involved..........

i fiddled my way onto bbc archives by making up a company
there was nothing on there about raffingora but if i can find a precise day/race i can contact them
as a lot of the film archives have not been entered yet.

i will ask if onlooker can help thanks....

i fiddled my way onto bbc archives by making up a company
there was nothing on there about raffingora but if i can find a precise day/race i can contact them
as a lot of the film archives have not been entered yet.

i will ask if onlooker can help thanks....

Yes dod Bill Marshall was a spitfire pilot in WW11.  I read a story once where Bill was returning from a mission in France in 1943.  Apparently, he flew his plane under a bridge and performed a roll to impress a girlfriend.  Unfortunately, the stunt did not impress an Air Commodore and a report was filed.  Bill escaped a court martial as it was wartime.

both horses brilliant weight-carriers and kept improving,
brilliantly handled by Marshall and Piggott.

and just a bit of trivia, years later Bill Marshall rented Lester's yard
in Hamilton Road, Newmarket. one day one of his horses broke loose in the yard
and ended up in Lester's swimming pool !

From small requests grow great threads, enjoying this one immensely.

Horses seemed to be great wight carriers in those days, Lomond was another in the long distant handicaps that was a favourite of mine.

i vividley remember n my early gambling years raffingoras defeat in the king stand stakes
letting me down for a decent yankee
my best mate confessed years later that he'd willed it to get beat
as it would have given me the lead in the up and comming gambler stakes

I remember reading once that raffingora nearly never became a racehorse.
when he was young, his knees were so badly deformed that nobody wanted to risk buying him. 

In fact nowadays in these times of money ruling everything, he might well have been put down (as some unfortunately still are) 
eventually he was bought and put in training and as they say, the rest is history.

I was at York that day;from memory it was the last race on the card.I've got the racecard stored away in the attic;if there's any info in it you want i could get it out.

thanks posy....leave it for now
sure i should find it somewhere on the www

Terrific thread.

Wonderful horse, and a childhood favourite.

Bump

I doubt dogstorm is still around to be interested, but the race he wants was the Harewood handicap run on Tuesday Aug 19, 1969. Raffingora (then a 4yo) won with 10-0, drawn 12 of 12. Not sure about any draw bias for the day, as the previous 4 races were run on the round course, and in those days, runners on the the far rail were invariably favoured in round course races. It was the last race on the card, so wouldn't have been on television (ITA).

I had been at Newbury the previous Saturday when Raffingora had won, also with 10-0, but as he was already set to carry 10-0 at York, he didn't get a penalty for it there. Piggott rode 3 winners on that Newbury card, and also on the York card (one of which was My Swanee).

Raffingora had run at the Ebor meeting as a 2yo when trained by Geoffrey Brooke, when 2nd in the Prince of Wales's Stakes (now called the Roses), and also as a 5yo, when he was 3rd of 4 in the Nunthorpe (that was the day when torrential rain hit the track before racing and turned the ground heavy. Raffingore preferred fast ground, but was still made favourite. Mill Reef cantered home by 10 lengths in the Gimcrack). I don't think he ran at the meeting as a 3yo, as he rather lost his form that season.

Anyone know how he did at Stud...

He sired a couple of speedy ones in Raffindale and Vilgora. Ryan Price trained Raffindale, who won at the Ascot Heath meeting as a 2yo (beating Roussalka), and was 4th in the Gimcrack. He disappointed a bit thereafter, a bit like his sire as a 3yo, but was still running in races like the Palace House and Duke of York as a 4yo. He was sold to stand as a stallion in Australia, served a fe mares, and was then put back on the track and won a couple of big sprints. Vilgora was trained by Monty Stevens, who I think owned Raffingora, and won a bunch of races, often on firm ground. Raffindale too like firm ground. Raffingora's fertility dropped, and he was soon sold to Japan.

Thanks Ged, Remember Vilgora well.

He did produce a Group 1 winner called Pasty, who won the Cheveley Park in 1975 for Peter Walwyn - she'd also won the Lowther at York. And there was a 2-y-old called Overtown (Doug Smith) who won the Norfolk in 1974 and was later second in the Flying Childers.

Monty Stevens owned Lucknam Park, which I only know as I met him there when I went to visit my first trainer, David Elsworth in 1979. So I can confirm that Raffingora was no longer in residence then!

Ah yes, Overtown. I had a bet on that once, at 2-9. It got beat. One of my most shameful bets ever, I think, or at least I felt so at the time. I don't think it was the Flying Childers, but a smaller race after/before the Norfolk.

Ged,

His form going into the Norfolk reads 1-1-2 and he's shown on the racecard as BF last time out, so that's probably the one.

Yes, must be. The fact he won the Norfolk makes me feel a bit better about my bet.

His first Japanese offspring were foaled in 1976, so presumably he was shipped in 1975 at the latest.