Graham Dench speaks to those closest to the hugely popular stayer, who tragically sustained a fatal injury at Glorious Goodwood in July
This is not a story with a happy ending, but what went before Trueshan’s tragic demise at Glorious Goodwood was little short of a racing fairytale.
Tough and talented, this indomitable stayer wrote an unlikely story of success over eight seasons with trainer Alan King, with multiple wins at the highest level and arguably the greatest handicap performance of the modern era.
In so doing, Trueshan unsurprisingly became one of the most popular horses in training, which made his death following a freak injury in the Goodwood Cup all the more heartbreaking.
King could never have envisaged what was to come when he picked out Trueshan as a two-year-old at Tattersalls’ Guineas Breeze-Up sale at Newmarket, which is predominantly a source of speedy and precocious youngsters bought with one eye on Royal Ascot.
He recalls: “I bought him with Anthony Bromley for 31,000gns, largely because at the time I had another horse by Planteur who I liked, and because he was a big, rangy two-year-old who would probably make a lovely jumper one day if he didn’t make a Flat horse.
“We put him away after just one run as a two-year-old and then at three he was a bit unlucky not to go through his five races unbeaten. He was schooled with a view to go jumping, but after he beat Hamish at Newbury on his final start I decided we’d wait at least a year. Then he just took off.”
Strength to strength
With just a few exceptions, including that extraordinary handicap performance in the 2022 Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, it was Group and Listed races all the way, and Trueshan went from strength to strength.
He won 16 of his 35 races, three of them G1s and another three in a G2 that has since been upgraded to G1. He was placed nine times and earned more than £2m, his career no doubt prolonged by King’s careful husbandry.
When asked to pick out a few highlights from an outstanding career, King had no shortage of material – startign with a memorable breakthrough victory behind closed doors at Ascot in October 2020. “The first big one was the first of his three wins in the Long Distance Cup on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot as a four-year-old,” he says.
“Although it was a G2 at the time it was always a G1 in all but name, and he didn’t half win that day, beating Dermot Weld’s dual Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song by more than seven lengths.”
That performance was also a landmark success for jockey Hollie Doyle, who was breaking through into the big time and in Trueshan found a flagship horse to carry her to the top. Doyle rode him 23 times for 11 victories, and recalls that first big day very well.
“He had taken his form to a good level, but he wasn’t one of the favourites that day so I don’t think anyone was expecting him to win in quite the style he did,” she says. “He bolted up, and that was also the day I won my first G1 on Glen Shiel in the Sprint. From th
en on, he was usually my ride.”
And from then on, Trueshan’s course was set for stardom. The following year he took his place at the top table with a dominant display at Glorious Goodwood, providing King with a personal milestone in the process.
“That Goodwood Cup win was his first G1, and mine too,” says King. “That was one day when the weather was very kind to us. I remember the heavens opened and so Stradivarius was pulled out. We ended up favourite and that made me quite nervous, but conditions were absolutely perfect for him and he won well again.
“That was a terrific day, and there was another next time out when he won his first Prix du Cadran at Longchamp, when Hollie was suspended and James Doyle [no relation] took over. I was at a memorial and couldn’t be there, but I got the result after the service and he’d romped home from Stradivarius.”
The going at Longchamp that day was tres souple – ‘very soft’ – and that suited Trueshan ideally. The ground was also very much on the soft side when he completed a hat-trick of wins in the Long Distance Cup after what King describes as “a right old set-to” with old rival Coltrane, and it was soft enough again for a second win in the Cadran in 2023.
Career-defining performance
Underfoot conditions were very different, however, for what many would argue was Trueshan’s defining performance from a ratings perspective, on the artificial Tapeta surface in the Northumberland Plate.
It is said that there is no form more reliable than handicap form, and the level Trueshan achieved that day had not been seen in a handicap for many a year.
“I can’t say that I expected him to win, as he carried 10st 8lb [an official ratings mark of 120], but we’d missed Royal Ascot again because of fast ground and I wanted to get a run into him to blow away a few cobwebs,” recalls King.
“He was giving two stone to the runner-up Spirit Mixer, and that horse won the Plate himself this year. Timeform said it was the best weight-carrying performance in a handicap since Roman Warrior won the Ayr Gold Cup nearly 50 years previously.”
Trueshan had gone more than 12 months without winning before his final start in the Goodwood Cup, but he had confirmed he was no back number when runner-up to the great Kyprios when bidding for a third Cadran last autumn, and King had no doubt he was still able to mix at the highest level under the right conditions.
“His work at home was as good as ever, and he was still attacking Sharpridge Hill, our stiff uphill all-weather gallop, with just as much enthusiasm as he ever had,” he says.
“He really was a remarkable racehorse. He was such a sound horse that I don’t think we ever missed a day with him at home, and he was so tough that not many would get the better of him in a head-to-head.
Great asset
“He was very straightforward and another great asset was that you could keep him simmering away without him going over the top, so then if you thought that rain was coming he could be ready to go again after a couple of gallops.”
Racecourse fatalities are thankfully rare, and there was some comfort to be had at Goodwood in that Trueshan’s injury occurred out in the country, a long way from the grandstands.
“The course was in great condition and nobody was to blame,” says King. “It was the sort of injury that could have happened anywhere.
“We were fortunate that it happened at the top of the hill, where it was very, very quiet, and the veterinary team were superb. It was a very peaceful ending for him.”
Sports fanatic Andrew Gemmell was one of a quartet of owners throughout Trueshan’s career and had not missed many of his races, but in hindsight was relieved that for once he was unable to attend that day.
Blind from birth, Gemmell has been a decidedly lucky owner with his colours carried by another fan favourite in the top-class staying hurdler Paisley Park.
Exceptionally fortunate
He says: “I’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have two horses as good as Trueshan and Paisley Park and I didn’t miss many of their races.
“Apart from his first Long Distance Cup, when attendance was restricted by Covid, I was there for most of Trueshan’s big days, including his Goodwood Cup win and the two at Longchamp. I had some fantastic days at the races with him, but I couldn’t be at Goodwood and I’m glad I wasn’t.
“What happened there was heartbreaking, as he was evidently racing as enthusiastically as ever. It was devastating for everyone involved, but he was such a star and he’s left us with so many wonderful memories.”
Trueshan has been cremated and his ashes are buried at King’s Barbury Castle yard in a small graveyard alongside those of former stars Viking Flagship, Katchit and Balder Succes. It’s a fitting resting place after a life so well lived.
‘I’ve never fel
t more attached to a horse’
Trueshan’s regular jockey Hollie Doyle remembers a horse who did it all
I first got on Trueshan when he reappeared as a three-year-old, and we won our first two together. I could tell he was a good horse, but it was more than a year before I rode him again owing to other commitments. I was so lucky to get back on him because we won seven of our first eight races together and 11 in all.
The next time I rode him was when we won the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day at Ascot, and the following year we won the Goodwood Cup, which was his first G1 and a very special day for me too. Goodwood can be a difficult track because of all the turns and undulations, but riding Trueshan there was like driving a Rolls-Royce. He was so well balanced, and you could just point him and he’d change leads to go round the turns.
That year we also won a second Long Distance Cup, but I was suspended when he went to Longchamp for the Cadran. I was obviously delighted for connections when he won, but I was in tears watching the race at home.
His third Long Distance Cup win showed what a battler he is, as he really had to dig deep, and luckily I had another chance on him in the Cadran two years after the one I missed, so winning there was yet another special day.
Strangely, I didn’t think I got on with Trueshan that well to begin with, but he ran for me. He could be very keen and Alan liked me to drop him in, but in the end I’d just jump him out, drop my hands, and let him find his own rhythm.
He was such a long-striding horse that I just had to let him use that stride and not try to manoeuvre him, but even as a seven-year-old there was one occasion when he carted me in the Doncaster Cup. He still won, which shows what a good horse he was.
Alan did such a great job in minding him over the years, never risking him on fast ground. He always put Trueshan first, and pulled him out of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot four times because he felt that the ground was too quick. Not many trainers would have resisted that temptation, and I’ve got so much respect for him for that.
What happened at Goodwood was so awful, as Trueshan had never been lame and was still loving his racing. When I’d galloped him the week before he’d felt as good as ever. It could have happened to any horse anywhere, but I knew it was bad straight away.
I was lucky enough to ride him every year from three to nine, and it’s so rare for a jockey on the Flat to have a horse in their life for that long. He was such a nice person – so tough, with such a big heart – and I’ve never felt more attached to a horse than I was to him. I’m a bit of a softie, but he did it all, didn’t he?
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