Favourite and least favourite racing silks (flat)

Are you that bored!!?

Got to agree with the dartboard colours. Looks rubbish. Wasn’t it a competition or something to come up with those colours?

Should serve time for giving the stamp of approval Kenbo…

Always liked Lord Howard de Walden’s plain apricot silks, and Jim Joel’s black with a scarlet cap. Class.

Moller - chocolate & gold.

Ardross colours Charles St George always been a fav of mine. Black white chevron and cap

Lord Howard de Walden's apricot numero uno. Wasn't the story that they were picked by one of his artist pals to go with the green turf?

Sheikh Mohammed's own colours were better than Godolphin's all-blue imo. Sheikh Hamdan's blue with white epaulettes are up there (same basic combo as Mr Vogt's Frodon colours over jumps).

Michael Tabor's colours are bloody awful and probably the worst of any top owner.

Can't help by being influenced by the horses so Englehard for me.

THE REEDS, shotgun,path of peace etc up the naarth

What about Empery Nelson Bunker Hunt……

The Hollingsworth colours when they represented those homebred slow burners in training with Hern - they've since been based on a large scale.

Guy Reed colours are responsible for me getting the bug…..Souix and Souix at Lanark tbh….

debased

Valerie shaw for me just in front of lord howard

Apologies form I’ve just noticed flat so lord howard just in front those carried by fractured foxy.

Pearlyman Jimnast.

That’s correct ribero always like the colours actually posses a set in wool.

A great 2 miler slightly behind the elite 2 sprinter and Moscow but as good as any of the others I saw.

Of the present ones it would be Juddmonte on the flat and Brocade Racing over jumps. Easy to see in running and while Juddmonte have been around for 40 years or more, Brocade have made a massive impact with relatively few runners. Also agree about Lord Howard and Jim Joel.

Not a fan of the bloke at all, but I've always liked the classy simplicity of the Magnier silks (don't like the Tabor or Derrick Smith silks too much)

Stanhope Joel and Anthony Oppenheimer favourites.
Dislike a lot of the American ones I’d say

Sangster colours are class.
Dartboard Colours are a disgrace.

Anybody else still got their Benson and Hedges book of Racing silks from the early 70’s

Yes, I have the Benson and Hedges racing colours book.
I doubt 50% of those colours are still registered.

My favourite colours are gold, gold cap, aquamarine sleeves.
The Coolmore navy colours were bought at a Sotherbys auction for, I think, 70,000 sterling (estimate in the catalogue was about half that).
I liked the Dr Devious Derby colours, white with a little sky blue on the sleeves and cap.
I do not like the Coolmore navy colours.

Fwiw almost all the single colours (e.g. apricot) were issued about 200 years ago.
It is difficult to get two colour silks now.
Try selecting new racing colours on the BHA and anything nice gets the response "colours not available".

Always liked the Barnett colours.

tony blooms blue and white colours done ok


UTA

Not that bad on NH either put tenner every one at S.P. massive return

UTA

Were the de Walden colours officially apricot or salmon pink?

99% sure there apricot ramruma blackbarn is your man for racing colours however not seen him on here for a while hope he is ok.

Thanks, jimnast.

I used to hate the Beaverbrook colours of Bustino, Petoski & Minster Son (and many more) but as I don't think
I've seen them this century, I miss them now...and if they reappeared tomorrow, they'd give me a bit of a buzz.

Another glum set of silks are the Cohens...of Long Run & Noble **** fame - depressing!

I also cannot ever recall seeing a quality performer in The Queen's colours with ANY speed at all.
The only one I can think of is the h'cap sprinter King's Lynn and although everyone knows that her breeding interests
focused more on stamina, I still can't think of an horse that produced a turn of foot as they were all grinders.


The ubiquitous classy silks of my youth are sorely missed...Sangster, Niarchos, Moller, Friedman,
Ivan Allen, Wildenstein, d'Alessio, Fahd Salman as well as the original Sheikh Mo silks - I'm sure
I've forgot many obvious ones.


Regarding the Sharpo colours, the barman in Minder (Dave) wore his Monica Sheriffe silks to death - he must've
backed him in The Temple Stakes at 33/1!

Can't believe that cravat sporting cnút is still bowdlerised on here - especially as he's
named after a 4-time Gold Cup winner so maybe we need to laugh at the bástard a bit more?

Snipped something courtesy of jockeycolours.com to try and identify the colour of the Howard de Walden silks.

[   This image is no longer available.   ]

Probably not a 100% reliable method but in the photo, both the 1917 and the 1968 silks appear to in the color of Peach (html color code #FFCBA4) which is described as a soft and warm orange color with a hint of pink. It embodies sweetness and gentleness, perfect for creating a gentle and inviting space.

Her late Majesty had the worst racing advisors in the country (although in part this is because JP's were in Ireland which is another country). She sold Height of Fashion to Sheikh Hamdan, who bred from her Nayef, Unfuwain and Nashwan.

Back on topic, the royal colours are bloody awful imo, far too fussy; Sheikh Hamdan's are much better.

Some women liked the Henbit colours…..

Sangster, Niarchos and the Aga Khan's my 3 favourites.

Hate colours that have playing cards and the like of them.....just tacky,reminds me of yanks who are the kings of tacky.

The dartboard must be the worst since time began imv….

Cross of Lorraine another turn off….

Ramruma - can't believe I neglected to mention Height Of Fashion!

There've been plenty of her decendants with speed - Liz really missed a
trick letting that broodmare go...and even the burden of her pedestrian
colours wouldn't have slowed them down

Form

Whilst I remember the henbit colours I don’t understand your comment on them

My mistake jimnast getting them mixed up with another set,jumps I think with the hearts on them,think Francome wore them

My favourite are Helena Springfield colours. Fairy Footsteps and many good fillies since, Bella Colora etc and there weren't any I didn't back because I like the operation and its name as much as the black and white theme. Here's to another forty years of seeing them.

Plundering ?

Yes that’s the one jimnast….ta

The hearts colours were Mrs Miles Valentine - Pink with Cherry Hearts - geddit?

Lord Howard de Waldens colours were/are Apricot.  The variations you see are just printing variances.

thought this thread would drag him out of hibernation lol

Thanks Jimnast.  All fine here pal. Hope with you too.

Elise

good to see you around, remember the friday night colours discussions many moons ago

I’m fine blackbarn thanks just getting older

Agree with Sharpo but it was Only For Life that started it for me.
Formoftheace-Captain Christy carried a Cross of Lorraine not too bad I think.
Others I liked all for selfish reasons.
Lord Roseberry
Jock Whitney
Jim Joel
Charles Englehard
Paul Mellon
Sir Victor Sassoon
Have to agree about the Dartboard awfull.

Yes Jock Whitney were certainly famous and catchy Tommy…

never liked the crazy quilt silks myself, sheikh mohammed burgandy / white for loder were ones i always looked for

I was looking for those colours from ground level at Newmarket when lycius went clear in the 2000 guineas only for me to see the lady beaverbrook colours at the very last minute getting up

Re Lord Rosebery's colours are cleverer than you might think - Rose and Primrose Hoops - Rose for obvious reasons and Primrose because it is/was his family name. Being a Brighton fan, I have always had a soft spot for stripes. Lord Tavistocks Purple and White stripes with a classy Black velvet cap and Ryan Jarvis' Red and Yellow stripes were pretty flashy

There is a set of lifetime colours that used to be owned by Huntley of Huntley and Palmers.  Any ideas?   No looking up in your B and H, if you have one.  Mine is number 45 of the 1000 limited edition issues

When I registered a set of colours in 1998, I was originally going to have royal blue and white striped sleeves, in honour of the Brighton strip, but then that incredible Croatia team, with their red and white checked shirts, dumped the Germans out of the World Cup 3-0, so I compromised and registered royal blue and white checked sleeves.


If only I could have foreseen what Tony Bloom was going to achieve, I would have moved heaven and earth to register a full set of royal blue and white stripes. Think what they might have been worth! At the time though, I just knew of Bloom as someone who once or twice turned up on-course with a terrible punter called Fat Harry Findlay to back losing odds-on shots.

Your post reminds me of those sharp, bright sparks at the onset of the on-line revolution who registered and copyrighted website names as the likes of RBS, MandS,Virgin etc; foreseeing that eventually those organisations would want to do likewise and would have to cough up for the privilege.

the shieks colours no good for commentators, Grahem goode had oh so sharp finishing 4th in the 1000g in them

TESTING APRICOT COLOUR ████████

Major L B Holliday. White, black hoop and armlets , black cap.
Hethersett , should have won the Derby with Harry Carr. Brought down by a falling horse 6 furlongs out.
Showing my age now.

No doubting Lord H d W,s were Apricot. My own fav was the Maroon and White of Sheikh Mo and surprised hardly a mention. My own involvement was a rip off of Dave Nevisons white with a red disk ( Rising Sun ) and a plagiarism of Michael Tabors.

Brians - Major Holliday's colours were Maroon not Black.  Looked Black on a B/W telly though.

Blackbarn.Should have included Major Holiday in my list.
Brian.How about Proud Chieftain winning the Roseberry Handicap at Kempton about 1960 for the Major. Definately showing my age