Balthazar King (foaled February 12, 2004) is a Bay Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He is out of Afdala by King's Theatre. In 2015 his record stands at 16 wins, and 9 places from 45 races. He came runner up to Pineau De Re in the 2014 running of the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse.
| Balthazar King | |
|---|---|
| Sire | King's Theatre |
| Grandsire | Sadler's Wells |
| Dam | Afdala |
| Damsire | Hernando |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 12 February 2004 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Sunnyhill Stud |
| Owner | The Brushmakers |
| Trainer | Philip Hobbs |
| Record | 45: 16, 8, 1 |
| Earnings | £489,812 |
He is currently owned by The Bushmakers and trained by P J Hobbs from his yard in Minehead, Somerset.
He has 8 wins around Cheltenham Racecourse, including the Cross Country Handicap Chase twice.
Career
editBalthazar King's first race was a National Hunt Flat race on 28 March 2008 at Newbury Racecourse in that race he finished 6 out of the 17 horses involved. He went on to race in two more NHF races, winning one and finishing 11th out of 15 in the other. His next 16 starts were all over hurdles, over a period of a year and a half. He won 2 of his races and placed in a further 6. On 24 September 2010 he moved on to his first National Hunt Chase race, at Worcester Racecourse and won on his first attempt. He went on to win 3 of his next 6 races over fences and placed in one other. During this period he also won around Cheltenham.
Balthazar King has a record of 8 wins, and 4 places from 17 races at Cheltenham Racecourse.[citation needed] He first raced at the track on 15 November 2009, finishing second. He won on 13 April 2011, at the 7th time racing.[1] His wins at Cheltenham include two Cross Country Handicap Chases worth £50,000 each.[2][3]
Grand National 2014
editBalthazar King went into the race at Aintree Racecourse. He was jockeyed by Richard Johnson, who himself is yet to win the Grand National. Balthazar King finished second, a distance of 5 lengths behind the winner Pineau De Re and in doing so he won £211,100.[4][5]
Grand National 2015
editBalthazar King ran in the Grand National, but took a fall on the Canal turn and injured his ribs.[6][7] He was sent to Liverpool Equine Hospital to recover.[8][9]
Pedigree
edit| Sire King's Theatre (IRE) 1991 |
Sadler's Wells (USA) 1981 |
Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natalma | |||
| Fairy Bridge | Bold Reason | ||
| Special | |||
| Regal Beauty (USA) 1981 |
Princely Native | Raise A Native | |
| Charlo | |||
| Dennis Belle | Crafty Admiral | ||
| Evasion | |||
| Dam Afdala (IRE) 1999 |
Hernando (FR) 1990 |
Nininski | Nijinsky |
| Virginia Hills | |||
| Whakilyric | Miswaki | ||
| Lyrism | |||
| Afasara (FR) 1988 |
Shardari | Top Ville | |
| Sharmada | |||
| Afeefa | Lyphard | ||
| Afrique |
References
edit- ^ "Balthazar King reigns at Cheltenham". scotsman.com.
- ^ "Bow down to the King for the Grand National - Channel 4 Racing". Channel 4 Racing. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Rain could thwart Balthazar King's National tilt" Eurosport, 31/03/2014
- ^ "Grand National 2015: Last year's runner-up Balthazar King to head Philip Hobbs' four-strong team". Liverpool Echo, 31 March 2015. By Chris Wright
- ^ " Grand National glory for Pineau De Re". Liverpool Echo, 5 April 2014 By Amy Browne]
- ^ "Grand National 2015: Balthazar King 'steady' after breaking ribs". BBC Sport, 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Ruby Walsh to the rescue after Balthazar King’s Grand National fall". The Guardian. Chris Cook Saturday 11 April 2015
- ^ "King closer to returning home after National fall". Racing Post, Peter Scargill 8 MAY 2015.
- ^ "A happy homecoming for Balthazar King". Racing Post, By Andrew King 11:12AM 30 MAY 2015
External links
edit- Sky Sports Career Overview
- Racing Post (Racing Post Career Overview)