Our Vic: the chaser who never gave up still giving plenty to the sport aged 22

Fans Favourites' is a Racing Post Weekender feature in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they pluck on our heartstrings

Some horses just keep on giving even when their racing careers are over and there are few finer examples than Our Vic.

It is ten years since he was delighting racegoers on our racecourses but Our Vic continues to be invaluable to racing and has his own new fan club – a demographic the sport craves.

The classy chaser’s latest admirers are teenagers and twenty-somethings, who just happen to work with him and keep him in the manner to which he is accustomed.

That is because Our Vic has been a fixture at the British Racing School in Newmarket for the last seven years, having been gifted by his late owner David Johnson.

The Grade 1-winning chaser, who beat Kauto Star at a memorable Grand National meeting for his owner, trainer and jockey at Aintree in 2008, can claim to have played his part in helping chisel champions from raw recruits.

Our Vic at the National Heritage Centre in Newmaket

The BRS has played its part in the formative years of the last six apprentice champions as well as producing stable workers through the yard staff course.

Our Vic turned 22 on April 3 so he no longer puts the finishing touches to the hopefuls on their licensing test.

Richard Perham, the senior jockey coach, says: “He's a real superstar and is still a really valuable asset for the younger and
less-experienced on our courses.

“He is such a Christian and everyone loves him – he’s one of the older horses at the school now and he doesn’t do any schooling under the conditionals any more.

"He still gives his riders a thrill cantering away on the straight gallop and is seen popping over poles in the manege to keep them on their toes."

Julie Lingham, yard manager at the BRS, adds: “He's an absolute gentleman to deal with. They always say you can tell with a good horse because they have that bit of intelligence and, even when he's turned out with 20 other horses, he always stands out.”

That star quality also saw Our Vic chosen to welcome the first visitors to the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art when it opened in Newmarket’s town centre four year ago, putting some of the illustrious Flat horses in the sport’s headquarters nose's out of joint.

“Whoever rides him is very proud to have sat on a Cheltenham Festival winner,” adds Perham. “He's an amazing horse.”

No one is disagreeing with that assessment, least of all his Cheltenham-winning partner Timmy Murphy, who along with his retaining owner David Johnson, arranged Our Vic's second job.

“Because he was such a good ride, we recommended he go up to Newmarket because he had so much more to give after a suspensory problem and David [Johnson] didn’t want to race him again," says Murphy.

Timmy Murphy and Our Vic are led back after winning the RyanairCredit: Whitaker Edward

Despite his recent years in Newmarket, Our Vic had just as long a career in jump racing, part of his attraction to racing fans along with contesting some of the top races each season.

He competed at the Cheltenham Festival for five consecutive years, four times in the Ryanair, but started out with a third to Rule Supreme in what is now the Albert Bartlett in 2004.

It was a case of try, try and try again in the Ryanair, after being pulled up when favourite first time and beaten out of sight by Fondmort in 2006. He failed by a neck to reel in Taranis the following year before his defeat of Mossbank in 2008.

“He was my first winner for him [Johnson] when he won the Reynoldstown the first time I rode him as AP [McCoy] was injured,” remembers Murphy.

“He travelled and jumped and never came off the bridle. He did jump a little bit left but I thought he was a Grade 1 horse.”

So it proved as Murphy and Our Vic went on to seven more successes over five years, including that Ryanair victory – “he bounced out and made almost all and jumped fantastic” is Murphy’s summary.

The biggest low point was when in front and looking the likely winner when falling at the last in 2004 in what is now the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

“He should have won,” says Murphy. “It didn’t look like he was going to get up and he got a great reception when he rose to his feet.

“He was one of those horses who had a great following as he was one of the top horses over fences for a long time - he had a great attitude and was very good looking.”

Our Vic made amends by winning the BetVictor (formally the Paddy Power), beating Monkerhostin who had been gifted the big Cheltenham handicap win the season before after that fall.

That success came after he had pulled up in his two races following the fall and Murphy explains: “He lost confidence but he was pretty straightforward when he jumped the first couple of fences well and got into a rhythm but when he didn’t he wouldn’t be going anywhere.”

The best was still to come after David Pipe had added blinkers to the ten-year-old.

It brought Our Vic’s crowning moments, first with Ryanair redemption and more famously a thrilling defeat of Kauto Star at Aintree on what was his tenth birthday.

He had also finished second to Kauto Star in the King George in that glorious season.

Murphy says: “He was at his best that year and over his best trip – three miles stretched his stamina.

“At Aintree, Ruby took us on early which I was happy about as Kauto Star could idle in front and Our Vic showed a lot of guts and determination to get back on the line.”

Johnson and Murphy went on to win the Grand National with Comply Or Die, leading to the understatement of the century - “it was quite a party on the Saturday night.”

Martin Pipe and Our VicCredit: Edward Whitaker

'He was a tremendous horse'

Martin and David Pipe guided Our Vic through his career after being bought by Johnson from the Tom Costello academy in Ireland.

“He was a tremendous horse for my father and myself - a rock solid top-class horse,” remembers David Pipe, who handled the latter half of his eight-year career at Pond House.

“He was a typical old-fashioned chaser, a very good-looking individual - he only ran four times over hurdles at the start of his career and won three of them.

“He ticked all the boxes, just didn’t quite get the Gold Cup trip but gave me a first big-race win in the Charlie Hall on his first start for me.

“ I did ride him a couple of times but Eddie Buckley, our head lad at the time, rode him regularly,” added Pipe, who rode in point-to-points before turning to training.

Our Vic really has had a life well lived and keeps on giving which is why he has such an enduring fan club.

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